Yahoo Finance UK mobile commerce to reach £2.3tn by end of 2021
By the end of this year, UK mobile commerce will reach £2.27tn ($3.16tn) and increase to £2.73tn in 2022, as businesses and consumers shift their payment methods thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a new report by Kaleido Intelligence for Payvision, 11% of all worldwide online shoppers currently use their mobile wallets on a weekly basis.
The data showed that Apple (AAPL) Pay, Samsung (005930.KS) Pay and Google (GOOG) Pay total in-store wallet payment transaction value is set to reach 27% in 2022, up from an estimated 16% in 2020.
Some 2.7 billion people will use mobile wallet apps by 2022, it said.
It comes as central banks and regulators are increasing contactless limits to decrease the need for touching point-of-sale (POS) keypads to prevent the spread of the virus.
Across major markets there have been increases between 50% and 200%, with 100% in the UK.
In April 2020, Visa (V) revealed that cardholders touched a checkout terminal 50% less than usual.
READ MORE: Cashless society: Cash could disappear from the UK by 2026
Ellerd Liem, director POS at Payvision says: “Contactless payments reign supreme in a world where strict health regulations call for people to avoid physical interaction.
“It is certain that people who have discovered the benefits of convenient, contactless online shopping will want to continue enjoying them. More businesses, if not all, will need to allow online payments to keep up with this demand.”
He added: Now that people have discovered the benefits and convenience of online shopping, they’ll continue relying on this method. To beat out the competition and keep up with the innovation, businesses must prioritize an omnichannel strategy, that brings faster processes, personalized service, and 24/7 support.”
It comes as free to use ATM's are disappearing from UK high streets at an alarming rate, compared to those that are more financially viable and charge customers to take out money.
Research by UK merchant payment provider, Dojo, found that between January 2019 and September 2020 the number of cash machines in Britain fell from 62,967 to 55,674 — a decrease of 7,293.
This means that on average, more than 340 machines disappeared from UK high streets every month in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
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According to the report, the city of York has seen its number of ATMs drop from 63 in January 2019 to 45 in September 2020. This is a decline of 18 or almost 29%.
The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, came in second on the list of cities that have lost the most ATMs during the pandemic, with a 24% fall.
London — the largest city in the country — ranked third and lost 192 machines between January 2019 and September 2020, a 23% decline. Meanwhile, Sheffield, which has a population of over 730,000, lost the least amount of cash machines per capita with one ATM for every 3925 residents.
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