MPOS technology is spreading at a very fast pace across the key economic regions of the globe, including developed and emerging markets with a number of startup organizations as well as established players in the payment industry who have chosen to venture into this sector.
Countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia are current hotspots for MPOS technology due to high investment as well as favourable market drivers such as rising card penetration, smart-phone and internet users. The adoption of this technology in emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil and Russia is also beginning to catch up. They are fast becoming key areas of future investment due to a combination of the positive macroeconomic factors and the favourable demographics.
Recent technological innovations have allowed turning smart-phones and tablets, which run on platforms such as Apple’s iOS, Blackberry and Android, to be used as MPOS systems. Many providers of MPOS solutions provide dongles, which can be attached to a smart-phone through the headphone jack, a USB port or a proprietary connector, capable of reading card information.
During 2011-2012, the global MPOS industry registered significant growth in terms of the volume of terminals in operation, registering an annual growth of 111%. Driven by the high adoption in emerging markets, the industry is further expected to expand at a CAGR of 42.7% over the next four years.
The key factors that are driving MPOS growth are: