A look at Google Pay and the rise of mobile payment

Since the development of NFC technology, contactless payment has boomed around the globe. In Europe, the number of mobile payments rose by 200% between 2015 -16. The US saw 16.5% of all smartphone users making mobile payments in 2016. The UK market shows incredible growth in the mobile payment sector, with 74% of people using smartphones to make payments and manage finances. This emerging market has spawned a new generation of digital innovations and has created unique opportunities across a range of industries.

The rapid growth of the mobile payment industry has caught the attention of major players within the technology sector. Big names like Google and Apple were amongst the first brands to jump on the trend by developing payment infrastructures that are now used globally. Although Android Pay was a little late to the game, Google’s flagship mobile payment service has slowly grown to become one of the most used contactless payment services on the market.

That being said, Android Pay is still lagging behind the competition, with Apple Pay leading the way. Google has attempted to rectify this and convert more users to a recent decision to merge all of its payment services. The new development will combine Android Pay and Google Wallet, among others, to create Google Pay. The singular system will centralise consumers’ payment details to their Google account, making them available across all platforms such as Chrome, YouTube and smartphones.

This move by Google to make its payment service more streamlined shows a clear interest by the tech giant to increase the number of consumers. Market projections suggest that mobile payments will overtake the use of physical credit and debit cards by 2020, which offers huge potential for Google Pay as well as smaller companies and creative app developers.

Mobile payment technology has been adopted by millions of companies that operate within a wide range of industries. The banking sector, retail industry and travel industry are just some of the markets that have swicthed on to the benefits of offering mobile payment options. Over the last five years, millions of new apps and digital innovations have been developed to take advantage of the mobile payment boom.

New creative digital solutions continue to improve consumer experiences by speeding up the payment process and increasing operational efficiency for companies across the world. By 2020, mobile payments will reach $503 billion which means there is still plenty of room for emerging companies to take advantage of the growing trend.