A new report predicts that China will have 230 million mobile payment users by the end of this year, generating transactions with a value of Rmb 11.37 billion (US$1.8 billion). This figure will rise to 320 million users making transactions with a value of Rmb 35.78 billion by end-2012, according to Minsheng Securities and iRsearch, two Chinese firms. The research, which credits the growth in mobile payments to the growing penetration of smartphones, covers services as well as digital and physical goods.