Half of consumers in mature markets will be making payments using smartphones or wearables by 2018, according to Gartner.

The research firm notes that mobile payments is gaining acceptance in North America, Japan and some countries in Western Europe.

However, the report does not specify how frequently users will be making mobile payments.

The report also sounds a note of caution, predicting that NFC-based services such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay will be limited in the short to midterm due to a lack of partnerships between retailers and financial institutions, as well as consumers seeing little value in such payments.

“Any mobile payment wallets that are tied to the device will have limited adoption and only if the device has a huge installed base,” said Annette Jump, research director at Gartner.

“Instead, cloud-based solutions will have a better chance to succeed as they can reach a wider audience and can support many use cases beyond face-to-face or in-store options,” she added.

“Also, mobile payment and mobile wallet adoption requires a country-by-country rollout plan with an enabled payment infrastructure and agreement with major banks and retailers,” said Jump.