U.K.-based Juniper Research has released a new report on the future of mobile payments. Juniper predicts that mobile payment transactions will reach $1.3 trillion in the next five years, a fourfold increase.

Growth in mobile payments will be driven by sales of physical goods using remote purchasing and NFC methods, which will account for 54 percent of the total value of mobile payments by 2017, the report found. Juniper said widespread rollout of NFC will contribute to the increase in mobile payments.

More than a trillion dollars may sound impressive, but putting it into perspective, Juniper said that the sale of physical goods through mobile payments will still account for only four percent of global retail transactions in 2017. More than 30 percent of online commerce, however, will take place on mobile devices by 2017, the report said.

Juniper also said lack of awareness by consumers could curtail NFC's adoption.

"While we are now seeing significant deployments of contactless infrastructure, consumer awareness is extremely low," said Dr. Windsor Holden, author of the Juniper report. "Thus, it is imperative for all members of the NFC value chain to engage with the public to heighten its profile as a simple, intuitive payment mechanism."

Along with the sales of physical goods, the report said, mobile will become more important in enabling domestic and international money transfers, though regulatory issues and lack of interoperability could greatly affect that market.

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