As financial tech continues to evolve to meet changing consumer expectations, what’s next for digital wallets, and can biometrics address the concerns of those who remain skeptical about their security?
· From digital wallet to super wallet
· How crypto wallets could leverage biometrics
· The future of digital wallets
The total number of digital wallet users is set to exceed 5.2 billion globally in 2026, up from 3.4 billion in 2022. So, what’s next for this booming technology?
From digital wallet to super wallet
The last few years not only accelerated the growth of electronic payments but made consumers accustomed to the convenience they offer. Now, they expect even more, and a single-function app approach already feels outdated.
To keep up, digital wallets will need to do more than just facilitate payments, they’ll need to include financial offerings such as loans, insurance, investing, and digital banking. In other words, financial super apps, or super wallets.
These connected ecosystems will allow users to manage payments, savings, investments, crypto, budgets, loans, insurance, and more, all in one place.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is also likely to play a part in the future of digital wallets, as big banks such as Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and PNC dive into the world of digital wallets.
The super app trend is a great step in enhancing the user experience, as well as increasing company bottom lines, but the risk of security breaches inside a super app is much greater than a single-purpose app. They integrate an unprecedented level of third-party components and are a treasure trove of personal identity information including contact lists, IP addresses, chat histories, web search terms, bank details and transactions.
Risk management needs to be at the forefront of super app development, and biometric verification could provide that required extra layer of authentication, without impacting the user experience.
How crypto wallets could leverage biometrics
The latest figures put the number of crypto wallet users at more than 84 million worldwide and the global crypto wallet market size whs been valued at $8.42 billion.
While these numbers are expected to grow even further over the coming years, news that Trezor crypto wallets fell victim to phishing attacks was a stark reminder of the security hurdles still facing this tech.
Hardware wallet devices are inherently more secure as they hold private keys, a secure physical device disconnected from the internet, leaving them less vulnerable to hackers. But biometrics can help to level up security, and the move to introduce biometrics into crypto wallets is already in progress, with some brands implementing the technology because it successfully walks the line between security and convenience for crypto users.
A Visa survey conducted last year revealed 86 percent of consumers were enthusiastic about using biometrics for authentication when making payments, and 70 percent said it was simpler than using passwords or PINs. This makes biometric technology the perfect partner for the super wallets and crypto wallets of the future.
The future of digital wallets
With so many consumers already embracing digital wallets as a convenient, fast, and secure payment method, could they replace cards and cash altogether and become the new normal? At Edenred Payment Solutions we’re excited to find out as we continue our work at the forefront of the innovations driving the evolution of the digital wallet.
To find out more about how Edenred Payment Solutions can help you be part of the digital wallet revolution, get in touch with our team of experts today.
