ABI Research is forecasting that NFC payments will become widely adopted in the U.S. and Western Europe by 2016. A new report from the research firm, called "NFC Mobile Payments," estimates total payments made using NFC will top $100 billion by that time.

"Despite the lack of definitive announcements to date, [mobile network operators] and [original equipment manufacturers] will flood some markets with NFC payment-ready smartphones in 2012 and 2013,"  Mark Beccue, ABI senior analyst, mobile money, said in a statement. "That, along with momentum from Google Wallet and several other MNO-led initiatives, like Cityzi in France, ISIS in the US, and the yet unnamed MNO JV in the UK, builds the installed base of NFC mobile payment users to more than 16 percent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. and Western Europe by late 2014."

According to ABI, the problem for NFC in the near-term are the business models being adopted, not the technology itself.

"With these new business models, the opportunities are too good to pass up. MNOs, OEMs, and Google are tinkering with multiple business and partnership models and will most likely use a combination of one or more. This approach will help move the business forward," Beccue said.