• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, June 9, 2014

The number of consumers using their mobile devices to pay is still on the rise.

While most smartphone owners have yet to make a mobile purchase, it doesn’t mean it isn’t coming to a store near you soon.

Some of the latest mobile wallet and payment projections point to a substantial increase globally over the next few years.

The number of contactless transactions via mobile handsets will pass 10 billion within four years, an increase from 3 billion this year, according to a new study by Juniper Research.

More startlingly is the forecast that the number of consumers making contactless payments via mobile will reach 300 million people within three years, an increase from just over 110 million last year.

The latest study notes that many markets are being seeded for mobile payment adoption by increases in the rollout of contactless point of sale terminals, with major providers of these systems like VeriFone and Ingenico both shipping a majority of their terminals with NFC (near field communication) as standard.

Add to that the projection that 500 million phones that include NFC will ship this year and the mobile money landscape is huge, at least from a potential standpoint.

Some industries are more ready than others. For example, quick service restaurants look to mobile payments to help speed high volumes of customers through checkout while some retailers or brands look to use mobile wallets to integrate coupons with shopping lists.

The largest value mobile transaction are expected in China and the Far East with mobile money activity in the Mideast and Africa being driven by money transfer transactions, which already account for more than 92% of all mobile transaction value, according to Juniper.

About one in five handsets are expected to house mobile wallets within four years, according to the study.

And the combination of different uses is expected to drive up the amount of money moving through mobile devices, forecast to exceed $500 billion this year, up 40% from last year, according to Juniper.

And that is no small change.