After getting off to a long, slow start, digital wallets are catching on in a big way.
In the first challenge to the primacy of physical wallets since they were invented in the 1300s, more consumers are seeing value in — and using — the digital version as they acquaint themselves with the many powerful features these apps can do.
“The Mobile Wallet Challenge: Replacing Physical With Digital,” a PYMNTS and ACI Worldwide collaboration, analyzes the reasons that long-languishing digital wallets are suddenly hot, noting that over half of Gen Z consumers say mobile wallets can supplant old-school wallets.
In terms of their most popular uses today, we found a statistical dead-heat between bill pay (49.3%) and transfers to/from bank accounts (49.2%), and the study revealed other uses that are making younger demographics particularly fond of this digital innovation.
“Consumers are driven to use mobile wallets due to the speed and convenience of paying their bills,” the study states. “Bill pay leads all mobile wallet features, with 85% more consumers using mobile wallets to pay bills than make in-store purchases. PYMNTS data shows that overall, 49% of consumers have used their mobile wallet to pay bills in the last 12 months, with millennials the most likely to do so, at 68%.”
The research found that consumers have paid three to four bills minimum using mobile wallets in the past year, with mobile phone bills the most common type paid via mobile wallet, at 44%.
“Other bills consumers commonly pay using a mobile wallet include credit card bills, with 42% of consumers using a mobile wallet to pay; home internet bills, with 35% paying these via a mobile wallet; and utility bills, with 33% paying via mobile wallet.”
Get the study: The Mobile Wallet Challenge: Replacing Physical With Digital
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