Digital Wallets… The future is now!

Our wallets have shifted from physical to digital. This didn’t happen all at once and it hasn’t happened completely just yet, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition. Sure, we still carry around an identification card and a couple payment and or credit cards but someday in the not-too-distant future all of this will be enabled on our smart mobile devices, and who knows; one day maybe through implanted NFC capable microchips.

At checkout, consumers with digital wallets are being presented with new technologies and options to pay in person. There’s tap to pay cards and digital wallets like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay. With QR code payment presentment, shoppers are able to use their smart phone camera to scan codes from printed and screen projected receipt invoices. On top of simplifying the payment experience in general, mobile payments also offer enhanced security.

The adoption of these technologies appears to be based on customer age. Generation X and younger accounts for 75% of mobile payment users but they account for only 48% of card users. Not surprisingly the Baby Boomers and older generations haven’t adopted new technologies as quickly. Payment habits tend to change based on suggestion and support. The pandemic has upped the frequency on both.

Merchants have seen the need to offer their customers new payment presentment options as a way to do their part in staving off the spread of the virus. This demand toward new technologies is flushing out slow adopters with antiquated swipe and outdated payment processing terminals. Store operators see the need to upgrade terminal point of sale devices and as we come out of the pandemic, options will be greater than ever.

A meaningful payment integration will always account for how a business is run and how it interacts with its customers to reduce friction upon payment. The rise of the digital wallet will support an onslaught of new technologies for merchants to chose from. As demand for mobile solutions increases, payment integrators must piece in solutions appropriately to stay current, convenient and secure.