ANZ’s latest data reveals the volume of mobile wallet payments soared 140% in December 2017, compared to the same period 12 months ago.
Mobile wallet transactions notched 3.9 million in December 2017, up from 1.6 million in December 2016.
However, Steve Price, Head of Everyday Banking and Payments, ANZ, claims mobile wallets are “still a relatively new technology”.
The Christmas period saw ANZ customers make 23% more payments via their mobile wallets, versus the former three-month average.
The growth in mobile wallet payments is largely driven by wearable devices – over 5,000 payments were reportedly made via FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay.
ANZ forecasts this trend to continue to grow “into 2018 and beyond”.
Price affirms the data reflects the growing popularity of convenient payment options, and demonstrates “strong demand among consumers for greater choice over the way they pay”.
4.5% of all ANZ transactions were made via smartphones and wearables, with the number of mobile phone transactions – compared to card use – doubling in the period.
Clearly, the trend is not exclusive to Australia, with mobile wallet use also rapidly accelerating around the world.
Statista forecasts mobile wallet payments to exceed US$1 trillion by 2021.
