The value of payments made via mobile devices – both online and at the point-of-sale – will reach around $507 billion globally this year, a rise of nearly 40 per cent over 2013, according to a survey by Juniper Research.

The size of average transactions made over tablets already exceed those via PCs in many markets, the survey found.

Users seem to prefer smartphones for search and discovery while keeping the tablet for the final purchase, Juniper said.

Mobile ticketing from transport authorities in Europe and North American has given the sector a boost.

But progress in contactless mobile payments has been slow, with few commercial launches taking place.

However, the report is more optimistic about medium term prospects for payments at the point of sale because of what it terms cloud-based secure element solutions. Their attraction is a reduced time-to-market for NFC services, it said.

Report author Windsor Holden (pictured) said host card emulation solutions could revitalise the point-of-sale market

“The prevalent business models for NFC have been unattractive to banks and left them dependent on multiple network operators, each of which may have its own approach to mobile wallet management,” he said.