Mobile phones replacing cash by 2016

Research by Forrester, commissioned by PayPal, found that “2016 will be the year when UK shoppers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for things on the high street with digital money rather than cash, cheques or cards”.
A PayPal commissioned research conducted by Forrester found that “2016 would be a milestone year for the real start of digital cash; when all the shoppers in UK would use their mobiles to pay for their things rather than cash, cards or cheques”

Carl Scheible, Managing Director of PayPal UK claims today’s children to be the first cashless generation of UK who would think of mobile payment as natural mode

Evidence of the findings lie in the fact that different companies are offering more and more incentives to pay via mobile; pizza express launched an app to assist users pay via mobile. Similarly through Starbucks recently launched app customers can easily scan a code corresponding to their account and choice of drink. Following the trend other online retailers and eBay is also going to open a shop that would ease the users to pay via mobile than cash.

The study suggested that almost half of the mobile users adopt the mobile cash payment mode.  PayPal is expecting to process higher than $3.5 billion in mobile payment volume in 2011-this is five times the volume that was processed in 2010.By 2016, UK mobile retail sales will make up to £2.5 billion- PayPal claims.