Digital payments to double in five years

Global online, mobile and contactless transactions now at $2.5tn

The amount of money transferred globally via online, mobile or contactless payment transactions will rise to $4.7tn (£2.8tn) by 2019, according to a forecast from Juniper Research.

That's up from the just over $2.5tn expected this year, says Windsor Holden, author of new Juniper report Digital Payment Strategies: Online, Mobile and Contactless 2014-2019.

Holden wrote that the largest net increase in spend is expected to be from purchases of goods made remotely, with a dramatic surge of digital payment activity to be seen in emerging markets such as China.

Sales on the China-based Alibaba website accounted for 20 per cent of e-tail sales to consumers – including consumer to consumer – worldwide in 2013, the report said.

Tablets are being used more for purchases, with overall e-tail transactions on mobiles and tablets expected to exceed those made on desktops and laptops for the first time this year. The move from physical formats such as DVDs and CDs to streaming and downloading is also accelerating.

However, contactless transactions are tipped to be mainly driven by card purchases, rather than mobile devices, Holden confirmed.