PayPal Announce NFC Upgrade, Mobile Wallet Partnership with Vodafone #mwc16

DUBLIN, February 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The global NFC chips market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 50.6%^[1] over the period 2015-2019, according to a report available on Research and Markets. NFC-enabled devices have become increasingly popular among consumers, allowing them to save their credit card information and make payments directly at NFC-ready POS terminals. Today at the Mobile World Congress, PayPal announced it will upgrade its app to support NFC technology and partner with Vodafone for contactless payments.

This partnership sees PayPal expand beyond its traditional business model of processing payments into a mobile wallet platform. It will now seek to rival competitors Visa and MasterCard, allowing users to make payments in locations such as shops and restaurants. PayPal customers in Spain will be the first to use the service this week, with additional European markets to follow later this year.

A recent report on the Global Mobile Payment Market^[3] identified NFC as the most effective means of carrying out mobile wallet-based transactions. The increasing awareness of mobile wallets and their convenience is predicted to increase the adoption of m-commerce, leading to market growth. The report forecasts growth at a rate of 36.26% in terms of transaction volume, over the period 2015-2019. It also expects growth in terms of number of end-users, at a rate of 18.10% during the same forecast period.

PayPal split from Ebay last summer and, after previously opposing NFC technology, believes providing a platform for digital wallets is an opportunity to generate new revenue and entice new customers to set up PayPal accounts. The increased proliferation of mobile devices has transformed the ways in which customers make payments, with another report on the mobile wallet market also predicting significant growth at a rate of 36.8% between 2015 and 2019^[4].

For further information on this topic, and a full list of all related documentation, please visit the Near Field Communication^[5] and M-Commerce^[6] sections at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/rm/LQRL^[7].

Source: http://www.mobileworldlive.com/mwc16-articles/paypal-changes-its-mind-on-nfc/^[8]