As the digitization of businesses is taking place, digital wallets and e-wallets are playing a key role in making this digitization a reality.
The e-wallets now became the part and parcel of the e-commerce, mobile commerce and digital commerce across platforms.
You cannot think of the digitization of the business processes without e-wallets and digital payment solutions.
Over the years, these e-wallets and digital payment methods also went through rapid evolution bringing new technologies and trends. To know how these e-wallets and digital payment solutions are going to transform business transactions, it is important to know the latest trends in e-wallet mobile app development.
Here we are going to explain some of the latest trends shaping the e-wallets and digital payment solutions.
Biometric Authentication
This year we can see the proliferation of biometric authentication as the principal technology for verifying the transactions and the identity of the individual carrying out the transactions. The technology largely utilizes the data corresponding to the biological and facial characteristics of a customer. The biometric authentication technology uses several different technologies for detecting physical and biological characteristics. Some of these recognition technologies include fingerprint recognition, iris recognition, and face recognition.
The emergence of sophisticated mobile devices capable of face recognition and iris recognition is the principal factor behind the increasing popularity of biometric authentication. The biometric authentication involving very personal information related to biological features of individual leaves no scopes for data tampering or theft for the purpose of carrying out fraudulent activities. This is why in 2020 and years beyond we can expect biometric authentication to be the most popular technology for e-wallets and mobile wallets.
Let us now briefly mention the key biometric authentication processes that are in use across most user interfaces and applications.
- Fingerprint Scan: Fingerprint scanning is the most common method to authenticate a person through biological information. Since fingerprints cannot be duplicated, it is highly reliable and secure from any fraudulent attempts of identity theft.
- Face Recognition: The face recognition technology relies on detecting the face of individuals for authenticating identity to grant access to data and functions. E-wallet applications using face recognition can really protect the customer identity and transactions as biological data such as the face characteristics cannot be tampered or stolen.
- Voice Recognition: Voice identification or voice recognition is another biometric authentication technology that authenticates the customers and users based on their voice profiles saved by the device or the respective app. It is also highly secure as a technology to safeguard transactions and user profiles.
- Iris scan: Iris scanner basically scans the color rings around the eye pupil of every individual user and since this biological pattern cannot be the same for two persons, this can be used for authenticating users and customers. As this scan deals with unique biological information for authentication,it is also highly secure technology.
- Retina Scan: Retina Scan is done to detect the typical blood vessel patterns in the eyes of individuals. Again, this scan detects a very unique biological information that cannot be reproduced or duplicated and hence used as a secure way of authentication.
Payments Through Smart Speaker
Asking Alexa to make payment for your restaurant order or the cab service no longer remains as a futuristic technology, it is already here. The smart speaker systems that throughout the day obey your orders for playing music tracks or turning on your connected TV, can now just open the e-wallet app in your smartphone and process a payment. As smart speakers already became part and parcel of our modern living, making payment through them is already trending.
A Statista report says an increasing number of customers prefer making purchases through voice commands made to their smart speakers. The same report already states that close to 30% of people already made it a habit to make payments or send money to others by using voice commands to these smart speaker systems. In 2020 and months to come this trend will only grow bigger.
e-Wallets for Cryptocurrency
Though cryptocurrencies as the digital currency could not attract mass-market consumption replacing traditional currencies in transactions altogether, they constantly gained importance as a new investment option for many investors. Most of the seasoned investors interested in cryptocurrency transactions now prefer carrying out their crypto transactions through e-wallets and mobile wallets.
Already there are thousands of different cryptocurrency based wallets in the market. In 2020 and years beyond we can expect a further surge in the number of e-wallets and mobile wallets for cryptocurrency transactions.
NFC Payments
NFC based payment transfer happens between two devices equipped with NFC technology and through the identification of radio frequency of two devices, the transaction is authenticated and processed.
The use of NFC technology to allow a smooth contactless and instant payment transfer has already become popular across the niches all over the globe. Some countries like the United Kingdom and China are experiencing the biggest growth in mobile payments carried out using NFC. In China, NFC payments are even being allowed in public transport systems.
Several leading e-wallets are already making use of the NFC technology. From Apple Pay, Google Pay to Samsung Pay, all are using NFC technology for payment transfer.
Intelligent e-Wallets
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now being used in e-wallets to facilitate intelligent authentication and processing of payments. AI-based Chatbots are already capable of authenticating users based on user behavior data. At the very next step, this capability can be utilized by payment apps and e-wallets to process payment securely and safely.
E-wallets as The Principal Medium for The International Transfer
There are too many countries all over the world who regularly receive a large portion of their GDP as international remittance from other countries. As the globe is getting closer and people are increasingly getting mobile and working abroad, the value of international remittances is steadily increasing. Now, e-wallets are playing a major role in facilitating these international transactions and remittances from foreign soils.
The e-wallet services offer people the easiest and most convenient method to make money transfer to their relatives and families back home.
Thanks to digital wallets and mobile wallets those days are really gone when we need to go through the statutory obligations required by traditional money transfer through banks.
Conclusion
E-wallets have emerged as the key ingredient of the digital revolution we are going through.
As the ordering of goods or services has become exceptionally easier involving just a few finger taps on the mobile screen, the e-wallets and digital wallets are bound to appropriate this digitized ease and flexibility in everyday life.
Author Bio:
Atman Rathod is the Co-founder at CMARIX TechnoLabs Pvt. Ltd., a leading web and mobile app development company with 16+ years of experience. He loves to write about technology, startups, entrepreneurship, and business. His creative abilities, academic track record and leadership skills made him one of the key industry influencers as well.
