A new report has found that just over 2 billion mobile phone or tablet users will make some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017, up from 1.6 billion this year.

According to the Juniper Research report, mobile consumption of services such as banking, money transfer and purchases of goods and services was surging as consumers were either migrating from desktop usage or becoming first-time eCommerce users through their smartphones or tablets. It found that in a number of developed markets, mobile devices would account for over half of online transactions within five years.

The report also observed that while contactless payments had yet to gain traction outside Japan and South Korea, Apple Pay was expected to provide NFC with real momentum. It also stressed the opportunity for mobile to offer consumers in emerging markets first-time financial inclusivity through the provision of mobile wallets, enabling services beyond payments such as savings and micro-insurance.