• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 21, 2011

Mobile payments worldwide are expected to jump 76% this year to nearly $86 billion, according to a new Gartner forecast. The number of people making mobile payments, meanwhile, will grow 38% to 141 million. Despite the eye-catching numbers , the research firm notes the mobile payment market is growing slower than expected, especially in developing regions.

At the same time, the promise of mobile payments driven by Near Field Communication in more advanced markets is at least four years away from mass adoption. "The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards," said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner.

Mobile app downloads and mobile commerce are the main drivers of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) payments, and WAP will account for almost 90% of all mobile transactions in North America and about 70% in Western Europe in 2011.Read more here.