Contactless POS transactions to top $655bn by end-2017

The global value of transactions made through contactless point of sale (POS) terminals is on track to grow to reach US$500 billion ($655.5 billion) by the end of next year, from US$321 billion this year, as a result of continuing adoption of the technology, Juniper Research predicts.

The company estimates that there were 15.3 million contactless terminals deployed worldwide, representing nearly 20% of all POS terminals.

But because the technology is typically used for lower-value transactions, Juniper Research expects that contactless terminals will only account for 5% of the total value of all POS transactions next year.

In a new report, the company noted that retailers in many markets have committed to ensuring that all terminals will be contactless ready by 2020. This is expected to prompt an upsurge in adoption, particularly in markets that can support contactless POS infrastructure.

But in other markets, including those where the retail market is still cash-centric, adoption will be more limited.

A newly reported data breach at Oracle has meanwhile shone a light on the vulnerability of POS systems to attack.

KrebsOnSecurity, the website operated by security journalist Brian Krebs, has reported that a Russian cybercrime group managed to compromise a customer support portal for companies using Oracle’s MICROS POS credit card payment systems as part of a breach of hundreds of Oracle systems.

The attack is believed to have been perpetrated by the Carbanak Gang, which is part of a Russian cybercrime syndicate suspected of stealing over $1 billion from banks and retailers in recent years, the report states. Attackers gained access to customer usernames and passwords for the MICROS portal.

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