What is a Mobile Wallet? And why accept payment from them?
The majority of people who ask, “What is a Mobile Wallet?” most likely have one set up or have seen the process in action. They know it as Apple Wallet or the Google Wallet, and even though “wallet” is right in the name, they have trouble making the leap that mobile wallets (or digital wallets) are actually the new wallet.
A Mobile Wallet is what people want to be using.
The digital or mobile wallet as we know it was introduced in 2011 by Google. Fourteen years later, $252B of commerce is conducted by mobile wallet today, and that number is expected to grow 9% annually. By 2028, mobile wallet commerce is set to hit $400B.
And why the fast adoption? One word: convenience.
Lighter Loads
We carry a lot less thanks to the mobile wallet. What is absolutely clear from the way people have flocked to digital wallets is that no one wants all that extra stuff on their person, from overflowing wallets in your pockets to loose cards at the bottom of your handbag. The digital wallet holds it all.
Safer Funds
Mobile wallets work on a system of tokenization, which replaces vulnerable data like your customers’ credit card information with temporary data that hides that information. This, combined with two-factor authorization and facial recognition capabilities that come with most smartphones, does a better job of protecting money and data than plastic cards ever could.
Faster Purchases
It may be a matter of seconds saved for customers by not having to find their wallet, find their card, tap or swipe and wait for confirmation — but those seconds add up quickly over the course of a day or week.
More Cards
Almost every type of payment can be supported by mobile wallet. Beyond credit cards, a digital wallet can hold gift cards, loyalty cards, points cards, coupons, passes, and more.

These benefits are skyrocketing the popularity of digital wallets.
Consider these statistics compiled by Capital One:
- In 2022, there were 3.4 billion digital wallet* users in the world.
- In 2023, 30% of point-of-sale transactions globally were made using digital wallets, more than any other payment type.
- Digital wallets captured 50% of transactions in 2023.
- In 2023, the global total value of digital wallet transactions was $9 trillion.
- In 2022, there were 3.4 billion digital wallet users in the world or 42.6% of the global population.
- By 2026, the number of global digital wallet users is expected to grow by 53% to reach 5.2 billion, or over 60% of the global population.
- In 2022, the average mobile wallet transaction was worth $92.50, compared to $95.10 for credit cards, $82.00 for debit cards, and $61.20 for cash.
- U.S. mobile payment users each spent an average of $3,254 with this payment method in 2023, a 64.9% increase from 2020.
- Globally, consumers are 127% more likely to use a digital wallet than any other form of online payment.
- 50% of global online purchases in 2023 were made using digital wallets, more than twice the 22% captured by the runner-up, credit cards.
- In North America in 2023, 42% of all POS payments were made with credit cards, 180% more than the 15% made with digital wallets.
- Also in 2023, 37% of North American online payments were made with digital wallets, just over the 33% made with credit cards.
- By 2027, digital wallets will solidify their lead over credit cards in North American online payments, rising to capture 51% of transactions online as credit card use drops to 22%.
Generation Alpha will ask, “What is a Physical Wallet?”
But the most important statistic retailers should be aware of is this one cited by Shopify: 80% of Gen Z shoppers have a digital wallet compared to a quarter of Baby Boomers.
Now consider that the first cohort of Gen Alpha was born in 2010. They’re 15 years old now. They have jobs that pay them digitally. They all have a smartphone with free access to either Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Few of them have ever, or will ever, carry around a physical wallet. And living through the pandemic as children got them very comfortable with all things digital. These are your near-future customers. But they won’t be if you don’t accept mobile wallet payments.

What is a Mobile Wallet to Sellers?
It’s a game-changing touchpoint if you’re looking to reinforce relationships with customers. Through a mobile or digital wallet, you can do things like send georeferenced welcome messages when someone enters your store; send through sale alerts and reminders, notify sweepstakes winners, offer real-time discounts and so much more.
And you can use this powerful touchpoint to push products and services directly through the point of payment — but again, only if you have the ability to accept mobile payments.
What is a Mobile Wallet most Buyers use?
This depends on where you are. In North America, the most popular are Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, with PayPal and Venmo gaining steam. In China, the two most popular are WeChat Pay or Alipay, which each have 1.5 billion users. Rupay and Paytm are the go-to technologies in India, and GCash triumphs in the Philippines.
It’s important to know which mobile wallets are popular with your customers so you can offer those payment options — and it’s not just international customers you should be considering.
Over a million people moved to Canada in the last two years, with StatCan attributing 97.6% of it to immigration. In the US, immigration rates are the highest they’ve been in 20+ years.
But new or not, more than half of consumers abandon a purchase if they can’t use their preferred payment methods.
Setting up to offer Mobile Wallet payments.
If you’re ready to begin offering mobile wallet payments and you’re into the idea of offering more options than fewer, OTT Pay would be your best bet — especially because our solution automatically converts your customer’s payment into American or Canadian dollars.
We can provide you with a POS terminal and E-Commerce solutions to accept all kinds of payment methods using an all-in-one World of Payments™ platform.
Unlock new markets by offering more mobile wallet payment options.