Frost & Sullivan: Popularity of Smartphones and Collaboration within Industry Fuels Expansion of M-financial Services

Frost & Sullivan: Popularity of Smartphones and Collaboration within Industry Fuels Expansion of M-financial Services PR Newswire LONDON, July 19, 2012 - Range and Sophistication of Mobile Financial Services to Expand During the Next Five Years in Europe LONDON, July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The European market for mobile (m)- financial services is characterised by a relatively high uptake of m-banking services, the emerging adoption of m-payments, and an opportunity for long- term growth in international m-remittances (mobile money transfers). New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.ipcommunications.frost.com), Mobile Financial Services - A Technology and Market Analysis forecasts a fourfold growth in the number of European m-banking users over the next 6 years, and expects that the value of transactions of mobile payments will increase to euro 72.33 billion by 2018. "The European m-financial services market is poised to grow due to the proliferation of smartphones," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Mario Fernandez. "In 2011, sales of smartphones accounted for more than 50 per cent of the total handset sales in the Nordics and Western Europe, and CEE countries are rapidly catching up." From a technology perspective, SMS-based services currently dominate the market. However, Frost & Sullivan believes that Internet-based applications will be increasingly important in spurring growth of the m-banking and m-payments in the short and medium term.