1.75 billion mobile users to adopt mobile POS payments by 2024

Just over 23% of the global population will be using mobile point of sale systems by 2024, according to new research from Buyshares.co.uk.

The research indicated that around 1.75 billion mobile users around the world will use the technology - and the adoption of POS will continue to rise in popularity.

Point of Sale transaction value will grow by 180% in 2024, the research says.

The 2024 users represent growth of 49.57% from the 2020 figure of 1.17 billion. By 2021, mobile POS payment users will be 1.36 billion and later grow by 11.76% to 1.52 billion in 2022. By 2023, the users will spike to 1.64 billion.

Buyshares.co.uk's research also overviewed the estimated total transaction value in the Mobile POS Payments segment between 2020 and 2024. As of June 2020, the figure stands at $1,479.69 billion. The value is expected to grow by 180.15% to $4,145.36 billion in 2024.

By next year, the transaction value will rise by 39.41% to $2,062.98 billion while in 2022, the figure is estimated to stand at $2,703.83 billion and later undergo an increase of 26.01% to $3,407.31 billion in 2023.

Various factors are projected to propel the growth of POS among businesses.

"Industry experts project that the dropping price of Point of Sale terminal devices will spur adoption globally," the report says.

"The affordability will make them more attractive for smaller and cash-driven businesses that struggle to retain customers due to singular payment alternatives."

The research also carried out a global comparison of mobile POS payments transaction value in 2020 based on countries.

China has the highest transaction value at $755.5 billion as of June 2020. The United States transaction value is at least half the value of China at $357.5 billion.

The United Kingdom comes a distant third with a value of $45.8b while Brazil is fourth with a figure of $22.3b. South Korea has the fifth-highest transaction value of $17.6 billion.

The company says projected growth of POS can be tied to the fact that major economies like China are heavily investing in eCommerce supported by the government.

Most Asian countries have placed their focus on digitalisation and building a cashless economy. This factor will definitely spur the growth in the market for POS systems during the period, the research states. Furthermore, the increasing use of debit and credit cards is creating an opportunity for POS systems.

"Industry experts project that the dropping price of Point of Sale terminal devices will spur adoption globally. The affordability will make them more attractive for smaller and cash-driven businesses that struggle to retain customers due to singular payment alternatives," Buyshares.co.uk says.

"However, the growth might be curtailed by the high maintenance cost in the near future. Furthermore, the slow adoption rate in emerging economies might hinder the adoption of POS globally."

The research says it is worth noting that POS continues to witness new trends emerge like the use of biometrics. Businesses are using fingerprint and facial recognition to confirm identities during payments. Biometrics is considered a secure authentication method.