MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga has suggested that NFC should be seen as a longer term effort, while acknowledging that some markets have adopted NFC much faster than others.

BANGA: "Think of the ecosystem and the infrastructure that needs to be built"

"I don't think these are 12 and 18 months things," he said during MasterCard's Q2 2013 earnings call. "Just think of the ecosystem and the infrastructure that needs to be built for any of these to happen and so I tend to look on it as a longer term effort."

"Some countries like Australia, Canada and Turkey are further ahead in NFC than others," he continued.

"If you look at contactless payments in Australia as an example, something like 25% or 30% of all transactions in Australia under AUS$100 are contactless, that's a big number compared to where they used to be two years ago. Now, will it go even higher? Probably. Will it take years to happen? Probably."

"NFC to me has opportunities, because it is a technology that is applicable not just to payments, but also delivering things around security, and things around loyalty and so on."

Banga also mentioned that MasterCard's MasterPass digital wallet, currently available in four countries, is now accepted by more than 20,000 merchants.

"I think anything that goes beyond just payment to the whole shopping experience, to the whole consumer experience; to the merchants' experience is an important aspect in the upcoming transition that's going on between physical and digital."