The number of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay users isabout to hit 100 million and should top 150 million by the end of2017, according to new data from fintech analysis firm JuniperResearch.

Apple, Samsung and Google (which operates Android Pay) owned 41%of the contactless payments market in 2016 – double their 20%market share just a year earlier, according to Juniper. By 2021,the three companies will likely own 56% of the market, with acombined user base of more than 500 million users, it said.

“The research found that Apple Pay, and the alternative walletsthat have followed in its wake, are set to establish themselves asthe primary contactless mechanisms of choice in the U.S. However,the challenge facing Apple and its rivals is to ensure that the infrastructure is in place for consumers tomake in-store payments,” Juniper reported.

“We believe that as contactless usage gains traction andconsumers/merchants recognize the speed and convenience it offers,then, as in European markets, there will be a further and significant increase in availability at thepoint-of-sale,” Juniper research author Nitin Bhas added.

There are other signs of market traction as well, especially for Apple. According to data from the 2017POS/Customer Engagement Survey released by Boston Retail Partnersin January, about 36% of all North American retailers now acceptApple Pay. The retail industry research and advisory firm expectsnearly half of all North American retailers to accept Apple Pay bythe end of this year.

Apple Pay isn't the only player in the market, however. BostonRetail Partners also said 24% of North American retailers nowaccept Android Pay and another 18% expect to begin accepting it inthe next 12 months. Just 18% of retailers currently accept SamsungPay, though another 11% expect to begin accepting that paymentmethod in the next year as well, it said.

“There are a multitude of mobile wallets and payment apps on themarket today, and the arena keeps changing,” Boston Retail Partnerswrote. “In the past year, we have seen the demise of themerchant-backed CurrentC and the rise of Walmart Pay. Whileadoption had generally been slow, this year we saw a big jumpin adoption of some of these mobile payment options. This is yetanother way to personalize and enhance the customer shoppingexperience by bundling loyalty and other features with a brandedmobile payment app.”

Education and rewards will likely fuel much of what comes next,it added.

“We have found repeatedly that not only are consumers unsure ofhow and when mobile payments can be used, but even more telling,associates are unsure,” it added. “For mobile payments – or mobilewallets – to succeed, there must be further education at the pointof sale to ensure that a transaction using a mobile device is notlonger or more complicated than traditional payments methods foreither the customer or associate. The other critical factor isexplaining the value of tying mobile wallets to loyalty rewards programs.Customers need to feel that utilizing mobile payments enhances theshopping experience and that they are being rewarded for theexperience – this will enable a win-win experience for retailersand customers.”