Why Should You Use a Digital Wallet?

If you have a smartphone, you probably have a digital wallet waiting to be downloaded or discovered among your existing apps. Using a digital wallet as a payment method has been growing over the past few years, as numerous companies have introduced them to the marketplace. Digital wallets can be used in combination with mobile payment systems and can be used to store credit card payment information, among other items.

Consider these reasons to begin using a digital wallet.

Convenience of a digital wallet

In mere seconds, you can complete a transaction using a digital wallet with a tap or wave of the smartphone at the checkout terminal. Most digital wallets work with the help of a technology known as near-field communication, or NFC, and have integrated with cashier/check-out stations via mobile apps and e-commerce websites. NFC-enabled devices communicate wirelessly with each other over a very short distance, typically about 4 cm or less, allowing you to complete a transaction by placing your smartphone near the checkout terminal.

Efficiency

No more digging in your purse or wallet for the right card. Plus, as more consumers adopt this technology, checkout lines could become shorter due to the speedy nature of the transactions.

Less lugging items around

If you’re like most people, your phone is always with you. If you can store your payment cards in a digital wallet, you can pay at accepting stores without needing to carry your physical wallet with you, meaning one less item to carry.

Organization of a mobile wallet

A digital wallet can help you organize everything from credit cards, membership cards, customer loyalty cards, and more.

Security of a digital wallet

Unlike your regular wallet, your phone has controls available—should you turn them on—that will allow only you to get in. If someone finds your wallet, your cards are all right there. But if someone finds your phone, they can’t just physically reach into it and pull out a credit card. Plus, when the payment is made in-store or online, what is exchanged instead of your card number is a unique transaction identifier or token. So, the stores where you shop with a digital wallet do not have to store your account information, which can help enhance the security of your data.

No more pesky forms

Have you ever quit an online transaction because the forms you were filling out were too long and onerous? Digital wallets enable you to skip some of this form-filling.

Discounts and bonuses

You may find promotions and point rewards systems in your digital wallet, and you can access the information at-a-glance.

Costs of a digital wallet

Digital wallets typically offer all of this convenience for free. Some transactions, however, could come with a flat fee, such as reloading a prepaid card within the wallet from a different source, like a credit card. But, for most transactions, the convenience and simplicity of a digital wallet will not cost anything additional.