“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat.” – Steve Jobs
As more people adopt the internet worldwide, underlying technologies are adopted as well.
The way we pay for goods and services has largely shifted away from paper cash, checks, and plastic cards to frictionless solutions at the tip of our fingers.
Looking at the share of smartphone buyers worldwide using mobile contactless payments, regions like Asia are well along the adoption curve at 46%, compared to North America and Europe at 16 and 14%, respectively.
Room to Run
Countries like China are heavy users of mobile contactless payments using platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay.
The gap between regions may be surprising, but it showcases the potential opportunity at hand.
Retail sales alone generate approximately $6 trillion per year with an increasing share conducted online. PayPal’s Dan Schulman has hinted upon just how big the market can be:
“It is an extraordinarily large addressable market that could be as large as $100 trillion…”, mentioning how the market is big enough to accommodate several key players.
It’s interesting to look at the top players domestically – like Square and PayPal – and think of the long-term opportunity relative to where valuations are today. Mobile contactless payments are on the rise…
Twitter: @_SeanDavid
Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
