The global technology market has grown rapidly from $1,6 billion in 2015 to $14 billion in 2022, according to Merchant Machine. It is driven by the adoption of online payment methods for banking and financial services. Mordor Intelligence forecasts that mobile payments will grow 24.5% between 2021and 2026. The demand for an online mobile payment system increases the need for digital solutions. As a result, fintech companies are trying to provide a frictionless payments experience for their customers, and are pushing back against a product-centric approach. One such solution is a mobile wallet application that keeps credit cards and provides transactions.
However, developing the fintech software is a time-consuming and costly process. The cost of developing an e-wallet app varies from $45,000 to $250,000 and depends on the level of complexity and functionality of your wallet. Nevertheless, there is a solution that can speed up the process and reduce development costs.
In this article, we discover what an e-wallet is, how it works and what you need to know before developing such an app.
What is a digital wallet?
Digital wallets are computer software that can conduct transactions online or over the Internet. It stores customers’ payment details for different payment methods on different websites. Digital wallets are also referred to as e-wallets. Although digital wallets are often stored on smartphones, there is another form, such as on a desktop.
Digital wallets can enable more than just transactions. They also hold loyalty cards, tickets, gift cards, and are used for user authentication. For example, mobile wallet apps can verify a person’s age when purchasing alcohol.
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SDK.finance provides e-wallet software for your business.
How does a digital wallet work?
It is quite easy to use a mobile wallet app.
1.The customer enters the card information into the app or onto the website.
2.Then the information is encrypted and the wallet is ready to use.
3.Once the user authorizes the transaction, the data is sent to the bank that transfers the money to the merchant account.
The new online payment system offers a revolutionary alternative to cash payments. The user does not have to rely on a card for a transaction. All they need is a smartphone and an Internet connection. That’s why mobile wallets are becoming more and more popular all over the world.
Why do you need to invest in mobile wallet app development?
According to Statista, the market for mobile wallet transactions will grow significantly over the next few years. It is expected that the total number of digital wallet users worldwide is expected to exceed 5.2 billion in 2026, up from 3.4 billion in 2022, representing strong growth of over 53%, due to a new study from Juniper Research.
As a result, the banking and financial sector is being forced to shift its key service and product offerings to digital formats. In response, financial institutions have started to offer various digital solutions tailored to specific needs. Thus, the introduction of digital payment options helps to increase customer loyalty, boost demand, and improve the convenience of modern users.
Market size of mobile wallet transactions worldwide with forecasts from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Statista
Key mobile payments statistics:
- Mobile payment app revenue is expected to grow from $550 trillion in 2015 to $1,639.50 trillion by the end of 2022, due to Forbes.
- It predicted a significant increase in the percentage of consumers who plan to use three or more digital wallets in the coming years, from 18 percent in 2021 to 30 percent in 2022, according to McKinsey’s 2022 Digital Payments Consumer Survey.
- The number of people using digital wallets is expected to reach 4.4 billion by 2025, according to Juniper Research.
The basic technologies behind a digital wallet
Wallet apps can be used quite easily. The customer launches the app with PIN codes or fingerprints to select the card to use. Many digital wallet apps use NFC technology when transferring cards and can even be used to make purchases.
NFC (or near field communication) is a contactless technology that provides secure transactions between a wallet and a POS terminal. It functions as a communication protocol and enables contactless payments via mobile devices.
MST (or Magnetic Secure Transmission) is a similar technology to NFC that uses magnetic card readers to scan your card when you swipe it through a slot on POS.
iBeacon enables secure data exchange that provides security authentication and the ability to send personalized offers and discounts to customers.
QR code contributes to a seamless payment experience. The transaction takes only a few seconds, making payment via QR codes extremely fast and convenient. Users just need to open the QR code scan app, scan the QR code and confirm to make the payment
Biometric authentication enhances the security of digital payments and provides fingerprint, facial and voice recognition. It also prevents fraud and extortion.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning. Digital wallets must have AI and ML capabilities that help integrate admin panels and detect fraudulent activity.
API-driven ledger layer software for your payment product
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Top 5 must-have e-wallet features
When it comes to designing digital wallets, it is important to always focus on the future user. There are key features of a digital wallet that you need to incorporate to meet the needs of the user. Understanding these features will help you hire the right team and develop the wallet according to the needs of your business and the needs of your customers.
- Instant money transfer. It’s important that you enable your customers to make quick money transfers.
- Bank integration. Working with a banking network can help you meet your customers’ financial needs. It can also help you reach new clientele and increase your sales. Offer bank payments like IBAN or SWIFT and integrate with providers.
- Multi-asset accounts. You need to give your customers the ability to hold their funds in multiple currencies in the account.
- Transaction control. It makes sense to give your clients the ability to track their spending.
- Currency exchange. Allow users to exchange currencies within their wallets.
These features are essential for the development of digital wallets, as they are the basis for the functioning of a modern mobile wallet app. You can also extend them and add different features as needed.
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Why choose SDK.finance digital wallet solution?
SDK.finance is a fintech platform that serves as the foundation for building a payment product. By using its ledger layer, you can save at least 1 year of active development time for creating your digital wallet product.
With SDK.finance SaaS ewallet software, you do not need to develop the software from scratch and can use a ready fintech platform to create your ewallet. Our modern tech stack offers you high scalability so you can expand your ecosystem without worrying about system overload. The API-first approach helps to add new features and integrations and ensures a faster development process.
It is possible to use an affordable SaaS version or purchase a source code license from us to get full access to the backend for ultimate independence and no more recurring payments.
SDK.finance digital wallet offers the following features:
| Account with multiple currencies | Add different fiat or non-fiat currencies to the system, without any limit. |
| Bank payments | Integrate with a bank network to offer bank payments that satisfy your customers’ financial needs. |
| Cross-border transfers | Offer internal P2P transfers, regardless of location. Enable payments between cards, wallets, and cell phones via integration with the corresponding service or payment providers. |
| Popular payments | Create a payment template and help your users save timeIntegrate with local providers to enable payments for electricity and broadband bills, mobile top-ups, payments for other popular services. |
| Spendings visualization | Help your customers track their spending and control their transactions using visualized charts |
| Currency exchange | Enable seamless currency exchange between your customers’ wallets within the system. |
If you are looking for a scalable digital wallet for your company, we offer a perfect solution. Contact us to discuss how our fintech development expertise can help you develop your own digital wallet solution or add one to an existing product
Wrapping up
Nowadays a lot of customers are looking for practical fintech solutions to manage their financial activities. Therefore, we need to develop a new payment method to ensure optimal customer satisfaction.
A digital wallet is a modern solution that offers value to both customers and businesses. Mobile wallet apps enable merchants to make faster sales and save customers time. This benefits all parties and makes the payment process faster and easier.
SDK.finance provides you with the foundation you need to make your digital wallet product successful and make it your customers’ favorite when it comes to meeting their financial needs.
