M-Commerce, also known as Mobile Commerce, has been a buzzword ringing bells to everyone linked to tech world. To put it in simple words, Mobile Commerce is a transaction of goods or services traded through mobile devices or smartphones.

m-Commerce has already made its presence acknowledged by changing the mobile into a channel facilitating reliable & secured transactions like, banking, payment and ticketing. Despite the concept being widely known & acknowledged as an equivalent of e-commerce, many of its facets are still unexplored & unknown to masses.

A concept which started with its simplest form i.e. transactions through SMS in 1997, has evolved like a wildfire over the last 5 years. In the widespread growth of m-Commerce, advancement in mobile technologies along with Financial Policies of New world countries has acted as a catalyst.

To the m-Commerce user’s delight, along with well developed economies, now developing countries are also embracing the concept with surprising speed. With most of the common services accepted well by the English speaking markets, African countries like Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, etc. are taking a more liberal approach while drawing financial guidelines to promote the use of Mobile Commerce. This will surely add more vigor in the rapid growth of m-Commerce, expanding the market reach & accessibility for more commodities & services.

With the global outlook 2012 predicting an increase in m-Commerce utilization up to 54% (from 38% in 2011) in smartphone users, it is becoming the honeypot for all businesses.

Apart from the regular Mobile Commerce Products & Services, a new (/ refined) service Mobile Wallet is on the rise amongst new service areas.

A few other areas apart from mobile commerce that you would want to keep an eye on for drastic changes are:

• M-Banking
• Mobile Wallet
• Location based Services

Going by the statistics, the number of mobile subscribers is expected to surpass the number of retail banking accounts in a couple of years all across the globe. This will surely lead to Mobile Commerce becoming the Channel of Choice, not only limited to basic shopping & selling experience but to more complex activities. So keep a watch on it