Unattended terminals are automated or self-service machines designed to operate independently without direct human supervision or assistance, commonly found in public or semi-public spaces. They streamline transaction processes, enhance efficiency, and often improve customer experiences by reducing waiting times and enhancing accessibility.
The primary types of unattended terminals include contact-based and contactless variants. Contact-based terminals require physical interaction, such as inserting a card or pressing buttons, to complete transactions. These terminals are widely used in diverse applications such as ATMs, parking meters, and self-service kiosks. They are deployed in various settings, including indoor and outdoor environments, catering to needs such as refueling, car washing, and retail in malls and other locations.
Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report's Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.
The sharp rise in U.S. tariffs and the ensuing trade tensions in spring 2025 are having a profound impact on the retail and wholesale sector, particularly in areas such as sourcing, inventory management, and pricing strategies. Increased duties on imported consumer goods including electronics, apparel, furniture, and packaged foods have driven up procurement costs, forcing many retailers and wholesalers to either raise prices for consumers or absorb the financial hit. Small and mid-sized businesses, which often lack pricing leverage, are especially at risk, facing tighter margins and reduced competitiveness. Supply chain disruptions and international shipping uncertainties have further strained inventory cycles. At the same time, retaliatory tariffs from overseas markets have diminished export opportunities for U.S. brands, curbing potential revenue growth. In response, many companies are pivoting to domestic and regional suppliers, bolstering supply chain resilience, and leveraging data-driven demand forecasting to manage cost fluctuations and sustain customer satisfaction.
The unattended terminals market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides unattended terminals market statistics, including unattended terminals industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with an unattended terminals market share, detailed unattended terminals market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the unattended terminals industry. This unattended terminal market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.
The unattended terminals market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $1.58 billion in 2024 to $1.73 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to the expansion of e-commerce growth, increasing smartphone integration, rising demand for contactless payments, rise in data analytics, and growth in the healthcare industry.
The unattended terminals market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $2.54 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growth in the retail industry, rise in smart cities, rise in digital payments, growing shift towards consumer convenience, and acceleration of the checkout process. Major trends in the forecast period include the adoption of contactless payments, growth in AI-powered customer interaction, rising mobile app integration, multi-language support, rising smart city technology.
The forecast of 10.1% growth over the next five years reflects a modest reduction of 1.1% from the previous estimate for this market. This reduction is primarily due to the impact of tariffs between the US and other countries. The cost of deploying unattended terminals may rise due to tariffs on embedded systems and payment integration modules, limiting adoption across convenience and transit locations. The effect will also be felt more widely due to reciprocal tariffs and the negative effect on the global economy and trade due to increased trade tensions and restrictions.
The rising adoption of smartphones is anticipated to drive the expansion of the unattended terminal market in the future. Smartphones are sophisticated mobile devices that integrate cellular communication with extensive computing capabilities, offering users a broad array of features in a portable format. This growth is fueled by advancements in smartphone technology, improved connectivity, multifunctionality, and affordability. Smartphones function as digital wallets for secure mobile payments at unattended terminals, enabling users to locate nearby terminals, check product availability, and conduct transactions remotely through mobile apps. This enhances accessibility and significantly improves the overall user experience. For example, according to "UK mobile phone statistics 2022" by Uswitch Limited, mobile connections in the UK reached 71.8 million in February 2024, marking a 3.8% increase from 2021. The projected UK population of 68.3 million by 2025 is expected to see 95% smartphone ownership. Hence, the growing penetration of smartphones is poised to propel the unattended terminal market forward.
Leading companies in the unattended terminal market are focusing on developing innovative technologies such as high-resolution displays to improve user experience, enhance transaction efficiency, and promote better customer engagement with clearer visuals and interactive interfaces. A high-resolution display is characterized by a high pixel density, which delivers sharper and clearer images and text. This technology boosts visual clarity and detail, making it ideal for applications that require precise graphics and readability. For example, in September 2024, PAX, a US-based consumer electronics company, introduced the PAX A920MAX. The A920MAX supports 5G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, providing fast and reliable connections for smooth transactions. Powered by Android 10, the A920MAX can run multiple applications simultaneously and process transactions more quickly than its predecessors, with improvements in installation speed and transaction processing time.
In November 2023, Nuvei Corporation, a Canadian credit card service provider, collaborated with Nayax Ltd. This partnership led to a significant 60% increase in cashless transactions for Nayax, driven by growing demand in EV charging and cashless payments. The collaboration aims to enhance the payment experience at EV charging stations, enabling companies such as Circle K and Couche-Tard to maintain a competitive edge by expanding their EV charging services. Nayax Ltd., based in Israel, specializes in comprehensive payment and management solutions for unattended and retail environments.
North America was the largest region in the unattended terminals market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the unattended terminals market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.
The countries covered in the unattended terminals market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.
The unattended terminals market includes revenues earned by entities by providing services such as banking services, retail services, payment services, and healthcare services. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The unattended terminals market consists of sales of touchscreens, card readers, barcode scanners, cameras, battery backups, and buttons. Values in this market are 'factory gate' values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.
The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).
The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.
Unattended Terminals Global Market Report 2025 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.
This report focuses on unattended terminals market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.
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Where is the largest and fastest growing market for unattended terminals ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The unattended terminals market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.
The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.
The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.
The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, and forecasting its development.
The forecasts are made after considering the major factors currently impacting the market. These include:
The forecasts are made after considering the major factors currently impacting the market. These include the technological advancements such as AI and automation, Russia-Ukraine war, trade tariffs (government-imposed import/export duties), elevated inflation and interest rates.
Market segmentations break down the market into sub markets.
The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth.
The competitive landscape chapter gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.
The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers.
Scope
Markets Covered:1) By Type: Contact-Based; Contactless
2) By Installation Type: Outdoor; Indoor
3) By Application: Refuel; Carwash; Malls; Other Applications
Subsegments:
1) By Contact-Based: Smart Card Terminals; Magnetic Stripe Card Terminals; Chip-And-PIN Terminals
2) By Contactless: NFC (Near Field Communication) Terminals; RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Terminals; Mobile Payment Terminals
Regions: Asia-Pacific; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa
Time Series: Five years historic and ten years forecast.
Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per capita,
Data Segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.
Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.
Delivery Format: PDF, Word and Excel Data Dashboard.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Unattended Terminals Market Characteristics
3. Unattended Terminals Market Trends And Strategies
4. Unattended Terminals Market - Macro Economic Scenario Including The Impact Of Interest Rates, Inflation, Geopolitics, Trade Wars and Tariffs, And Covid And Recovery On The Market
4.1. Supply Chain Impact from Tariff War & Trade Protectionism
5. Global Unattended Terminals Growth Analysis And Strategic Analysis Framework
5.1. Global Unattended Terminals PESTEL Analysis (Political, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal Factors, Drivers and Restraints)
5.2. Analysis Of End Use Industries
5.3. Global Unattended Terminals Market Growth Rate Analysis
5.4. Global Unattended Terminals Historic Market Size and Growth, 2019 - 2024, Value ($ Billion)
5.5. Global Unattended Terminals Forecast Market Size and Growth, 2024 - 2029, 2034F, Value ($ Billion)
5.6. Global Unattended Terminals Total Addressable Market (TAM)
6. Unattended Terminals Market Segmentation
6.1. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
Contact-Based
Contactless
6.2. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Segmentation By Installation Type, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
Outdoor
Indoor
6.3. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Segmentation By Application, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
Refuel
Carwash
Malls
Other Applications
6.4. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Sub-Segmentation Of Contact-Based, By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
Smart Card Terminals
Magnetic Stripe Card Terminals
Chip-And-PIN Terminals
6.5. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Sub-Segmentation Of Contactless, By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
NFC (Near Field Communication) Terminals
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Terminals
Mobile Payment Terminals
7. Unattended Terminals Market Regional And Country Analysis
7.1. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion
7.2. Global Unattended Terminals Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2019-2024, 2024-2029F, 2034F, $ Billion