An electronic wallet is a mobile application that works with an internet connection and enables you to make payments without carrying cash or your credit cards. While some think this is a revolutionary invention, as they can now pay solely using their mobile phone, others are not so thrilled.
Nevertheless, e-wallets have definitely brought a new era. They’re convenient and more secure than carrying all your cards with you. For instance, you are walking your dog and you only have your mobile phone and your keys with you. You walk by a store or a bakery and wish to get a pretzel and some coffee, but you forgot your wallet. Just one tap on your phone enables you to use your money and that is amazing, whether some would like to admit it or not.
Most popular domains for using e-wallets
E-commerce
E-commerce in general, is great for using e-wallets. That means that any kind of online shopping is a perfect candidate for using e-wallets. They’re fast and add a layer of security between your account and various online businesses, and unite all your credit cards and store them in one place.
Gambling
Using e-wallets has proved to be very handy. Despite the fact that this is true overall,
it is more practical and more used in some businesses than others. For instance, the online gambling niche is an extremely popular use case for e-wallets, especially in Australia at casinos like those listed here. You can pay your deposit almost instantly and start playing, as e-wallets have a very high transaction speed. Transaction fees are also quite low for e-wallets, so this is definitely a plus. Moreover, there is the matter of security. E-wallets usually have a high standard for encryption making it a very safe payment method and, therefore, very popular for online casinos. However, there are certain drawbacks such as the fact that not every casino accepts every e-wallet app, so make sure to do your research before you choose your preferred e-wallet.
Transportation, hospitality and food delivery
A cashless service such as an e-wallet is extremely convenient for transportation. Public transportation and ride-sharing are issues that definitely call for avoiding cash payments, therefore, e-wallets are the way to go. Similar advantages go for the hospitality and food delivery industry. It is always smart to use e-wallets when travelling and when you know you’ll be using non-cash payments for new and unverified places. It is a layer of protection that provides you with a sense of security and adds to your stress-free trip.
Agriculture and real estate
Agriculture and real estate industries are also great e-wallet candidates. When it comes to agriculture, there are a number of features e-wallets offer to make farmers’ lives easier. E-wallet apps can also provide credit, insurance and market information to their users. They can also store contracts and various important documents, which is an interesting perk for the real estate use case.
Popularity of e-wallets across countries
Perhaps many would expect that e-wallets are used in the majority in the United States, however, this is not the case. The popularity of e-wallets goes primarily to Asian countries. Specifically, Thailand is number one when it comes to using e-wallet apps. Followed by India, China and Indonesia, it is clear that Asia has the ultimate lead on using e-wallet apps. The first European country on this list takes position twenty-two and it is Sweden. The United Kingdom is also on the rise when it comes to people using e-wallets. Despite being thirty-second on the list, it has a tendency to move up the ladder. Nevertheless, Italy, Ireland and Spain are still higher than the UK on the list.
Benefits of using e-wallet apps
Increased cybersecurity
The popularity and development of e-wallets motivated hackers to get motivated to work on perfecting cyber attacks. Luckily, instead of using mere passwords which can be very weak and easy to penetrate, many people nowadays use multi-factor authentication that provides an additional layer of security. Once someone manages to create a breach through your password, they are still powerless unless they have your phone to confirm the second step of the authentication. Moreover, people use biometric authentication which is by far the safest way to login, even if someone does get to your mobile phone.
In addition, AI has been making a lot of progress in the field of security, since it can now track user behaviour and determine what can be classified as suspicious behaviour. That way, AI learns about your patterns and habits and blocks any suspicious activity. This is a great way to stay secure if you have consistent e-wallet behaviour. Otherwise, it may be a bit risky for now, but AI is progressing fast and soon it will probably be even better at recognizing whether you are using your apps or someone else.
Financial inclusion
According to research conducted in 2022, 6% of the world’s population is still unbanked. This means they have no secure access to financial services. For instance, they cannot receive a salary or pay certain fees. This is a real issue in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Luckily, these countries are exactly the ones that have the highest percentage of people now using e-wallets since it is the fastest and most efficient way to solve their problems when it comes to financial access. These people often wish to send their money cross country to their relatives and e-wallet apps make this simple and very affordable, too.
Whether people can see it or not, e-wallets are a huge step forward when it comes to financial transparency, accessibility and security. Not only that one can use these apps on their mobile phone, just a click away, but they can also be confident that their means and their data remain intact. These apps are slowly guiding us towards a financial revolution and that is the future we can all look forward to.
