London, United Kingdom - 15 Dec 2015

In a recent market data assessment, ABI Research , a leader in technology market intelligence, analyzes this year’s healthy increase of the global SIM card industry, determining that the market will reach 5.4 billion shipments in 2015 and mark a moderate 4% year-on-year growth. 4G and 3G SIM shipments similarly follow a healthy growth trajectory, increasing by 109% and 12% respectively, with 2G continuing to trail behind at an anticipated 14% decline. The firm, however, forecasts a dwindling future for the NFC SIM market following a few impressive quarters in 2014 and expects to see a more substantial growth rate favor the embedded secure element.

Read ABI Research’s SIM Cards report and SIM Card ICs report.

“This year’s NFC SIM decline constitutes bad news for mobile network operators but good news for device manufacturers pushing to directly implant the embedded secure element into their devices,” says Dimitrios Pavlakis, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “Apple Pay is one of the main instigators of this technological shift, with an increasing number of banks partnering with the company to attract customers. It seems banks favor Apple Pay’s embedded secure element approach over coordinating efforts with MNOs.”

In its report, ABI Research assesses current market trends and analyzes data from corporations including Gemalto, Samsung, Oberthur Technologies, Morpho, Infineon, Watchdata and G&D, among others. Findings show SIM IC manufacturers continue to push toward the implementation of the SWP (Single Wire Protocol) secure element in SIM Cards since they also share a similar vision regarding the future of the NFC SIM.

In comparison, data suggests NFC SIM shipments to reach 204 million in 2015, which is a mere 21% increase from last year’s impressive 120% increase. In addition, machine-to-machine (M2M) SIMs are slowly starting to share the spotlight, with M2M shipments and the MFF form factor projected to increase considerably between mid-2018 and early 2019.

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Smart Card Technologies Service, which includes research reports, market data, insights and competitive assessments.