The world has changed a lot as consumers have become more educated and less patient than ever. They expect everything to be done quickly and easily. People don’t want to hassle themselves that’s why they wish that things should be done with a single click of a button. When it comes to making payment, your tangible items or traditional wallets like a purse, wallet, etc. have been replaced with the new digital version of these traditional methods, i.e. Mobile wallets. Mobile wallets let you store your cash, business cards, debit/credit cards and loyalty cards on your mobile phones, which can be easily scanned for usage.
Loyalty cards have been ruling the market from past so many years. In these cards, loyalty is being rewarded in a number of ways from big brands to local shops. Customers get points on shopping which get accumulated with time and can be later used for shopping at a bookstore or get a discount on an item. One can also take benefit of these points on purchasing a movie ticket, at a toy store or on fuel. There is only one drawback of loyalty cards that you have to become a card-carrying member of the brand.
Mobile Wallet has outdone loyalty cards and comes into its own. It has streamlined the whole loyalty transaction process. There are several e-wallets in the market, but the most popular ones, not only store your credit/debit cards’ details but also hold information of up to 1500 loyalty programs. People having iPhone choose Apple wallet as their e-wallet. On the other hand, those who have Android devices, they have several wallet options, but the most commonly used option is Android Pay from Google. There is a PayPal wallet, which can be used by iPhone, Android and Windows users.
Benefits Of Mobile Wallet
It cannot be denied that mobile wallets allow you to save time while spending and also let you manage your money well. It is just a system or a method of making payments. Just like you swipe your card in a store or give cash payments, e-wallets are much simpler than card or cash. There are several advantages of using these wallets.
1. Secure Payment: It is believed that e-wallet is a secured payment method as the payment is made through the wallet app and no card details are revealed while making payments. This kind of a wallet provides you with an ease of combining credit and debit funds that are available across banks into single space.
2. Less Cash In Hand: When you are traveling out of city or country, you definitely need a good amount of cash in hand for several purposes like staying, transportation, etc. The chances of money being stolen or lost increase a lot. With a mobile wallet, you can carry your cash, as much as you can, through this secure and safe mode of payment.
3. Easy To Use And Access: When making payments can be possible through a single click, then there nothing better than this can happen. No need to fill card numbers and OTPs. Just link your credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts will your e-wallet and pay immediately without any hassle. Moreover, there is no need of physical wallets to carry containing cards or cash during your traveling. With e-wallets, you can pay anywhere and anytime.
4. Better Loyalty Management: Now with mobile wallets, you can easily integrate your loyalty programs directly to your customers. Mobile wallets give you an option to link your customers; loyalty accounts directly to their mobile wallets, allowing you to provide incentives, targeted coupons and special offers at the right time and in the right place. No more scuffling for coupons and loyalty cards. It has increased the speed of checkout, increasing throughput for your business.
5. Faster Transactions: Sending money has become like a piece of cake as you don’t need to go through the process of filling your details every time when you wish to transfer money. Your contact details are stored in the wallet. Now, with mobile wallets, you can not only transfer money through conventional electronic payments to the bank accounts but also send money to mobile numbers over which wallets are registered. These transactions will be completely secure and free of cost.
All these benefits of e-wallets are from a customer point of view, but these wallets are being adopted differently in different parts of the world. Let’s discuss the behavior and response of these wallets according to the demographics.
It cannot be denied that mobile wallets offer incredible opportunities to both businesses and customers, but these have not been widely accepted as they should be. In a research, Forrester stated that “Despite the accelerating rate of disruption and innovation in mobile payments, no-one including Apple, has yet cracked mobile wallets.” But things have changed since the beginning of 2017, and the growth of mobile payments is accelerating, which includes banking apps. Those who are using mobile banking apps are expected to soon adopt mobile wallets as they will understand how convenient and secure these wallets are.
Roadblocks For Mobile Wallets
Most of the mobile wallets are NFC reliant (near field communication) in which customers just need to tap their payment device to make payments like smart watch, mobile phone, etc. In order to be NFS compliant, this has to change to point-of-sale (POF) terminals, which requires being done from the side of banks and device suppliers. And this request in a change in POS is made from merchant side, so merchant should be proactive and informed about requesting the upgrade each time when the transaction is registered. While most of the retailers understand this whole process and successfully initiate all kinds of the payment request, but many small retailers fail to understand it.
Statistical Description How Consumers Adopted E-Wallets Globally
It has been found that online purchases made through mobile wallets have increased to 59% in 2017 from 43% in 2012, whereas card payment market has declined from 57% in 2012 to 41% in 2017. In 2012, $295 billion was processed through e-wallet payments. This is set to rise to $1,656 billion by 2017.
WorldPay, the global leader in payment processing, risk and alternative payments, in its ‘Your Global Guide to Alternative Payments (Second Edition)’ report, mentioned different aspects of online payments. Key insights from the report include:
Now, it is clear that the use and popularity of mobile wallets are increasing among both the customers and retailers globally. You just need to open your user or retailer account with mobile wallet sites through your e-mail and that will be used as a reference for sending or receiving money. These wallets are ideal for sending money to bookmakers, which is free and instant and also allows you to use your money in different currencies. Given below are a few commonly used mobile wallets and how each one of them is different from each other in making payments and getting rewards.
NETELLER: This mobile wallet is trusted by millions and allows you to shop securely anywhere in the world. You can transfer & receive money and access your funds instantly. It also lets you and your customers enjoy rewards and promotions, resulting in customer retention.
SKRILL: With Skrill, you can transfer money anywhere in the first free transaction. Simply, create an account, make payments and withdraw funds. Visit their promotion center for unmissible offers. You can also be rewarded for referring your friends or family.
WEBMONEY: Webmoney is a universal payment system that offers different features for customers and retailers. Customers can use this wallet to pay, top up, withdraw, get a loan and raise funds. On the other hand, businesses can use it to accept payments, make payments, budget management, work management and secure transaction.
CLICKANDBUY: It is an online payment system where internet buys have to register and deposit their bank account, credit and debit card details. It is TUV certified tested payment system.
PAYPAL: This wallet allows you to shop on the go or make payments with safety and ease. Simply sign up for free with your email and password, link your card or bank account details and login to your account and confirm your payment.
So, these are the mobile wallet masters that are doing their best to digitalize the payment methods. Although the number of players in the mobile wallet industry is limited, but this market definitely has a good future.