Benefits such as a reduction in transaction time and improved service delivery offered by contactless payments have resulted in a significant rise in the number of users. Some other key features of the system include easy installation and cost-effectiveness. The rising trend of making payments through QR codes and mobile phones is expected to drive the demand. Individuals are increasingly using this mode of payment as it eliminates the need to carry cash.

North America is expected to emerge as one of the key regional markets over the forecast period. The growth is mainly attributed to the increasing deployment of cloud-based contactless payment technologies in various verticals, including transportation and retail amongst others. Europe is expected to be another major region for contactless payments owing to the growing number of smart card rollouts. Countries in the Asia Pacific region, such as Australia, Taiwan, and Japan, have witnessed a higher penetration rate of contactless payments compared to other countries.

The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to change the payment behaviour of firms and users as the World Health Organization (WHO) has been advising consumers to avoid cash handling and switch to contactless payments. In addition, governments are taking initiatives to encourage the adoption of digital payments across their respective countries. For instance, Ireland’s Finance Minister has announced an increase from EUR 30 to EUR 50 in the spending limit via contactless payment methods. Furthermore, researchers found that Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is working on bringing potential architectures for accessible and resilient central bank operated payment infrastructures, such as retail Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), to allow broader acceptability. This pandemic may hence trigger various means of payments and spur the adoption of contactless payments worldwide.

Key industry participants in this sector as named by the analysts in this latest report include Gemalto, Visa Inc., Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Heartland Payment Systems, Verifone, Ingenico Group SA, On Track Innovations Ltd., Oberthur Technologies (OT) Morpho, Thales Group, and Wirecard AG.