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Mobile money transfers likely to jump 150% in 2015: Study

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VoicenData Bureau
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MobileMoney

NEW DELHI: The number of mobile money transfers is expected to increase by nearly 150% in 2015 as payments through social media will drive the market to over 13 billion, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

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The report said that there are now 17 markets, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of mobile wallets exceeds the number of banked individuals. Service providers are expected to generate $2bn from mobile money services this year, rising to $4bn by 2018, it said.

The research, Mobile Money Transfer & Remittances: Domestic & International Markets 2015-2020, observed that with US social payment service Venmo now experiencing traffic worth nearly $1 billion per quarter, leading social media companies were now introducing their own services. Snapchat has partnered with Square to deliver a P2P offering, while Facebook launched a US-wide service last month.

Meanwhile, it found that in China, both WeChat and Alipay saw astonishing spikes in P2P (Person to Person) traffic during February 2015. This was the result of ‘red envelope’ P2P gifting activity when WeChat users engaged in more than 3.3 billion P2P transactions in just six days over the Chinese New Year period.

According to research author Dr Windsor Holden, "The beauty of mobile-based microinsurance is that, for the first time, the unbanked can be afforded protection against natural disasters. Without it, a farmer suffering crop failure could lose his livelihood."

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