April 5, 2012 - Global m-payment transactions are expected to grow 97% per year, over the next three years, reaching a value of £591 billion by 2015, according to forecasts by KPMG. According to the report, growth will be fuelled by consumer demand for NFC-enabled devices that are 'always on, always fast and always accessible'.

David Hodgkinson, senior manager in KPMG's customer and channel consulting team, comments: "Today premium SMS dominates mobile payments, but by tomorrow contactless and cloud-based services will dominate, with an expected market share for contactless of 37% by 2015."

Acceptance of m-commerce as an alternative to cash or credit card payments owes as much to the expansion of the smartphone marketplace, as it does to retailers recognising the need to adapt, he says.

According to KPMG's report, smartphone shipments accounted for 29% of all mobile phone sales in 2011 - almost double the figure sold in 2009.

Sales are set to further accelerate with NFC in the mix. A recent report by Swedish research house Berg Insight, found that global sales of NFC-enabled handsets increased ten-fold in 2011 to 30 million units, with shipments forecast to reach 700 million by 2016.