March 21, 2012 08:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time
VRL Knowledgebank - Digital Micropayments Grow Rapidly As Market Takes Off
- European micropayments market estimated to be worth €6bn ($8bn) and is forecast to grow to €15bn by 2015 according to a new report from VRL
LONDON--()--The Making Money from Micropayments Report released today by top financial and professional services information provider, VRL, finds that revenues generated by utilising collective micropayments for virtual and digital goods is forecast to nearly triple by 2015.
The growth of broadband infrastructure and e-commerce coupled with the rise in social networks, social gaming, and virtual currency has led to a shift from face-to-face, physical payments to the monetisation of digital content, resulting in the emergence of new micropayment business models. Social gaming has been a key driver; between 2007 and 2009 online games with built-in virtual currency systems have proliferated with around 400 million active users on these platforms.
James Duckworth, Reports Editor, VRL Financial News comments: “Growth in the micropayments industry continues to exceed expectations, and opportunities for providers to service this market are tantalising. Companies like PayPal have an opportunity to significantly increase their revenues and market share, and as a result may pose a serious threat to banks’ profitability. What is clear from this report is that there is genuine demand for a micropayments solution from the payments industry, particularly as a result of the growth in virtual currency, estimated at $5bn annually.”
The Making Money from Micropayments Report is essential reading for businesses with a stake in capitalising on this increasingly valuable market. It contains case studies on companies already doing this successfully, including Facebook, Vodafone and Zynga, and examines the opportunities across data, music, software and services, which can be rapidly downloaded for a fraction of the ‘physical’ price. The report further examines the business case for micropayments, emerging business models and examines payment card and service providers. It also looks at the rise of new payments services and user interfaces, and ultimately aims to quantify the micropayments opportunity.
For further details on VRL reports please email info@vrlfinancialnews.com or visit: http://www.vrl-financial-news.com/reports.