Dive Brief:
- While adoption of digital wallets is growing in the United States, functions such as making payments and receiving money have decreased in in usage, according a recent survey.
- 12% of banking customers who are also Internet users used a digital wallet this year, the survey says, up from 2014's 7% found by Market Force Information.
- Integration of loyalty programs, coupons, and tap-to-pay smartphone functions attracted more users this year.
Dive Insight:
Digital wallets continue to grow slowly in the United States, and the most essential banking functions of a wallet—making payments and sending and receiving money—are actually slipping among those using them.
A survey from Market Force Information cited by eMarketer in 2015 says that 12% of U.S. internet users who are also banking customers have used a digital wallet. But only half (50%) reported using their digital wallets to make payments, down 5% from 2014’s figures.
This year, slightly more respondents used digital wallets to store loyalty card information (39% in 2015 vs. 33% in 2014) and coupons (23% in 2015 vs. 21% in 2014), though. Tap-to-pay smartphone functions jumped 10% in usage, from 24% in 2014 to 34% in 2015.
This indicates that the key to widespread adoption of mobile wallets may be in the hands of retailers—not financial institutions. And with banks such as Capital One and JPMorgan Chase only now getting in on the game now, retailers can maintain that edge with more apps and smart payment options.