Global shipments of handsets with Near Field Communication technology should increase to nearly 550 million units by 2015, helped by the decision earlier this month by three major U.S. wireless carriers to partner with leading credit card companies on a mobile-commerce initiative, according to new IHS iSuppli research.
AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA now plan to work with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide on their Isis joint venture, which they established to form a nationwide infrastructure for NFC-enabled mobile payments using mobile handsets in the United States. The original Isis joint venture announced in November did not include Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide (
Despite media reports that the Isis strategy had changed, Isis executives say nothing was changed from its original business plan (
By partnering with Visa and MasterCard, the wireless carriers are making the right moves to create an ecosystem that will enable consumers to become comfortable with making NFC payments through their cell phones, Jagdish Rebello, IHS director and principal analyst for communications and consumer electronics, said in a May 12 press release.
“The carriers hope to leverage the dominant position enjoyed by Visa and MasterCard in credit card payments to ensure a seamless consumer experience when customers use their mobile phones to make payments,” he said. “Such a move will drive an increase in unit shipments of cell phones with embedded NFC capability in the United States and around the world.”
Combined with Google Inc.’s continued efforts to promote mobile payment technology in Android smartphones (
IHS now predicts 93.2 million NFC-equipped cell phones will ship worldwide this year, up from its December forecast of 79.8 million. In 2014, 411.8 million NFC cell phones will ship compared with 220.1 million in the previous prediction, the company says.
