3.4b smartphones to be ready for m-payment by year-end

The install base of smartphones compatible with mobile payment platforms Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay is on track to reach 3.4 billion by the end of the year, IHS Markit has predicted.

The company estimates that by the end of 2017, 11% of active smartphones worldwide will be ready for Apple Pay, 61% will be compatible with Android Pay and 3% with Samsung Pay – but this overlaps with the compatibility of Android Pay.

The total install base of compatible smartphones is meanwhile predicted to grow even further to 5.3 billion by 2021.

But to date Apple has launched Apple Pay in just 15 international markets, Samsung has rolled out Samsung Pay in 14 and Android Pay is available in 10, leaving a large addressable market untapped.

“To reach [the large install base of compatible] smartphones, Apple, Samsung and Android must strategically expand mobile payments services and build partnerships with banks and financial institutions,” IHS Markit mobile and telecoms analyst Ruomeng Wang commented.

“Despite Apple Pay having a 10-month head start on Samsung Pay, Samsung has been catching up with Apple in terms of total available markets,” he noted.

Use of the payment platforms is also increasing online. IHS Markit said currently 38 payment platforms and 2 million small businesses are supporting Apple Pay on the web, while Android Pay allows users to make payments on the Google Play store as well as multiple mobile web sites in the US.

“Compared to Apple and Google, Samsung doesn’t have the same level of content, app platforms or web browsers designed to keep customers engaged. In order to tie customers to Samsung’s ecosystem, Samsung must actively expand Samsung Pay’s support for online retail,” Wang said.