Nowadays, we find ourselves carrying cold hard cash less and less because you can just as easily make your purchase with payment cards, and track your spending online. Digital wallets are Smartphone apps that hold your payment and loyalty card information. By using a digital wallet, users can complete purchases easily and quickly with near-field communications technology. They can also create stronger passwords without worrying about whether they will be able to remember them later. Digital wallets can be used in conjunction with mobile payment systems that allow customers to pay for purchases with their smart phones.
The benefits of Digital Wallet
Lower Costs: Employing the use of digital wallets removes the need for intermediaries, in a variety of forms. Purchases in-store may no longer require a cashier because the purchasing process becomes as simple as a tap or scan of a mobile device.
Competitive Advantage: Digital wallet applications provide a more convenient transaction processing method for customers, giving businesses that employ this technology a competitive edge in the market.
Modern: Traditional cash-only businesses, such as craft fairs and flea markets, can now accept debit and credit cards. This opens up an entirely new aspect to payment methods in large markets, introducing many business opportunities and greater potential revenue.
Convenience: Users are able to get through a purchase in mere seconds with a simple tap or scan of their mobile device. The experience of purchasing items becomes quicker and easier – leading to a greater sense of satisfaction. Furthermore, with faster transactions, checkout lines within stores become much shorter.
Reward and Loyalty Programs: The blockchain has the potential to take this to next level by improving the way that points can be traded.
Trends worldwide
Venmo
Venmo is an app available for BlackBerry, iOS and Android for transferring money between friends. Once you have an account, you can link a bank account, credit or debit card to it. It works similar to PayPal but only between two parties with Venmo accounts. Sending money is like writing an email to a friend, plus the amount you want to transfer. You can even share the transaction with a message on Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare.
Square Cash
Square Cash, built by Square, which is perhaps best known for its point of sale systems for the iPad and iPhone. At first glance, you might have trouble seeing why you would want to opt for Square Cash over other services, but it does have one unique selling point — you don’t have to set up an account to use it. It also integrates with email. To request cash, email the person that owes you money, enter how much is owed in the subject field, and then CC the email to request@square.com. Once the email is received, both parties will need to enter their banking information, and the transfer will go through. There’s no need for any new accounts, long waits, or extra steps in transferring process. In fact, once the bank information has been entered,
Digital wallets have taken on a number of forms over past few years, and while many industry insiders have heralded the importance of mobile, no one player has fully captured the market. Digital wallet market based on the mode of payment is currently led by remote payment method. This is largely due to significant reach of the remote payment methods and relative infancy of NFC technology. The number of consumers using their tablets and smartphones as their regular Internet gadget are increasing tremendously. Besides this, a mobile wallet supporting remote payment transactions allows unbanked/under-banked consumers to make use of mobile commerce through their mobile computing devices.
