Type of Article: MacTech Blog

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) forecasts smart/EMV payment card shipment levels to exceed two billion in 2014; an increase of 24.7% when compared to 2013. Of the two billion units, just over 600 million payment cards will be delivered into the Chinese market (a combination of pure payment and social cards) and 181 million units to the United States as its banks and financial institutions begin ramping up efforts in EMV issuance migration.

It has been a breakthrough year for indoor location for retail, with ABI Research’s quarterly indoor location technology tracker forecasting deployments to approach 25,000 by the end of 2014, up more than 100% on 2013.

Mobile technology is transforming the global payment and banking industry, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). While recent advances in smartphone technology have accelerated the trend, mobile payments have been around for quite some time. Mobile payment applications such as mobile wallets are growing in popularity as they address changing needs of merchants and consumers.

According to a new report by Allied Market Research (www.alliedmarketresearch.com) the global connected cars market is forecast to reach $141 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 32.7% during the period (2014 – 2020).

Integrated connectivity solutions segment is expected to emerge as a preferred connectivity solutions for connected cars, surpassing embedded connectivity solutions segment in 2016. North America currently garners major market share and would maintain the position throughout the forecast period.

The final results of the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) have been officially announced at the ITU Telecom World 2014 taking place in Doha, Qatar. The GCI ranks the United States as the country with the highest national cybersecurity commitment, followed by Canada in second place.