The major advantage offered by contactless payments is that customers can instantly complete transactions with the tap of a card. This increases the speed of transactions, making contactless payments even more efficient. With the increasing integration of contactless payment technologies in mobile handsets and smart phones, the demand for contactless payment solutions has grown tremendously across all the countries.

The researchers expect the hardware segment to account for the largest market size during the forecast period. Contactless payments are about wave and pay payments. The Point of Sale (POS) terminal is an electronic device that is used to process the payment transaction from a retailer’s store. Near-Field Communication (NFC) chips are built on a specific set of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) standards that help devices, such as smart cards, POS, and wearables to communicate with each other by bringing them together or in close proximity. A smart card is a small plastic chip card, embedded with an integrated chip, which is used to store and transfer data. Smart cards and wearables are the two most important devices used in contactless payment solutions.

Based on services, the integration and deployment services segment is expected to account for the largest market size during the forecast period. The system integration services in the contactless payment market aim at streamlining business applications by integrating various modules of the day-to-day operations. System integration services include project management, designing, engineering, procurement, testing, installation, commissioning, and after-sales services. These services enable the effective and smooth running of processes at reduced costs while maintaining their operational environment for end users.

In terms of regions, analysts predict that Europe will account for the highest market share over the forecast period, as it is already the largest in terms of market size and is highly fragmented based on multi-currencies and multi-languages. The region comprises a diverse range of countries, from economically and technologically advanced countries, such as the UK and Germany to severely debt-ridden countries, such as Greece and Austria. The UK, Poland, Spain, and Germany are cited as the leading countries in the European contactless payment market.

The major contactless payment market vendors named by the researchers include, Gemalto, Infineon, Ingenico, Wirecard, Verifone, Giesecke+Devrient, Idemia, On Track Innovations, Identiv, CPI Card Group, Bitel, Setomatic Systems, Valitor, Pax Global Technology, Mypinpad, Mobeewave, Alcineo, Castles, Sumup, and Paycore.