The forecast: In 2020, more than 1.18 billion people used proximity mobile payments worldwide, a growth of 22.2% over 2019. By 2022, proximity mobile payments will reach close to 1.35 billion people worldwide as the payment method's popularity increases.

Dive deeper:

• The pandemic forced a big shift in payments worldwide with more retailers implementing contactless payment options and governments encouraging these types of services to reduce physical contact.
• In 2021, we project more than 1.27 billion people will use proximity mobile payment users, some 70 million more than we previously expected. By 2022, 33.3% of mobile phone users, 38.6% of internet users, and 46.8% of smartphone users will use proximity mobile payments.
• Growth is happening the fastest among Latin American countries, where Argentina led with 58.3% growth in 2020.
• China leads in terms of user share with 87.3% of mobile phone users 14 and older using proximity mobile pay.

Looking ahead: By 2025, we expect proximity mobile payments will have over 1.49 billion users worldwide, translating to 48.2% of smartphone users.