FORECAST: Juniper's prediction for total mobile contactless transactions in 2018, split by eight key regions. Click to enlarge.

The number of contactless transactions made using a mobile phone will increase from 3bn this year to 10bn in 2018, according to Juniper Research, due to two key drivers: host card emulation (HCE) and the anticipated arrival of an Apple iWallet.

HCE will reduce time-to-market for banks in the medium term, Mobile Contactless Payments: NFC, iWallet & Host Card Emulation 2014-2018 forecasts, while "it is looking increasingly likely that Apple will introduce an iWallet in Q4 2014 which enables secure contactless payment via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and a second air interface."

"Apple's entry into proximity payments would drive growth in the wider contactless space by increasing consumer awareness of the mechanism, indirectly benefiting adoption of NFC," Juniper says.