Annual shipments of NFC-ready POS terminals are anticipated to reach an estimated 16.1m units worldwide this year, Berg Insight reveals, with more than 90% of new units shipped across Europe and North America supporting the technology. On a global basis, almost three out of every five POS terminals shipped in 2016 included NFC.

The global installed base of NFC-ready POS terminals is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9% from 45m units in 2016 to 86.9m units in 2020, the research firms adds. About 15m POS terminals accepted Visa PayWave, Mastercard PayPass or UnionPay Quickpass in mid-2016.

Shipments of mobile POS (mPOS) terminals with NFC support are also anticipated to reach 8.2m units this year, representing 45% of mPOS units shipped. Global shipments of NFC-ready mPOS terminals will grow at a CAGR of 41% in the next four years to reach 32.4m units by 2020.

“The mPOS terminal market is growing faster than the traditional POS terminal segment and there are more than 80 vendors active on the global market today,” says Johan Fagerberg from Berg Insight.

“The growth is driven by the increase in mPOS terminal shipments from 18m units in 2016 to 42.3m units in 2020, as well as by a growth in the attach rate from 45% to 77%.”

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