Mobile users say yes to mobile payments around the world

Security fears aside, the number of mobile consumers using their device to pay for goods and services is set to exceed 108.6 million in 2010.

The rapidly growing market has experienced a 54.5 percent increase in just one year - with consumers in developing markets the fastest to adopt the technology in their everyday lives.

"We continue to see strong growth in developing markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa for mobile payment, while adoption in North America and Western Europe lags behind due to the plentiful choices of payment instruments that consumers have," said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner in a report released on June 21.

"Developing markets have found the right formula for mobile money services - functions that users want and an ecosystem that can sustain the service."

Finnish mobile company Nokia is eager to help consumers in the western world adapt to mobile payments. At the Mobey Forum conference on June 17, Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki announced that all future Nokia Symbian smartphones will include support for NFC (Near Field Communications) - a technology that enables compatible devices to exchange data and communicate with each other when in close proximity (approximately 10cm).

Mobile payment via SMS (Short Message Service) remains the most widely used technology for mobile payment but additional technologies are being trialled around the world.