E-Wallet Payment & Mobile Wallet Development

Mobile payment systems began with the filing of the first patent in the year 2000. Today, in many countries, there are mobile payment systems. Remarkably, even in developing countries, mobile payment systems have really taken off. The reason is that, in developing countries, many people do not have access to banking and other financial services. These “underbanked” world citizens may constitute half of the adult population of the world. Mobile payment systems allow them to pay for goods and services without having a bank account.

In the developed world, e-wallets and mobile payment solutions provide merchants and customers with fast, efficient and secure transactions, even where there is no terminal or register.

E-wallets, also known as “mobile wallets,” are one form of mobile payment systems.

Other forms of mobile payments include:

• Card-based payment systems in which the customer enters their credit card
• Carrier billing in which the customer’s mobile phone account is charged for their purchase on a vendor’s website
• Contactless payments between devices with Near Field Communication
• Direct transfer between bank accounts

How Does an E-Wallet Work?

A mobile wallet works through an app. The client will enter their debit, bank, prepaid gift card, credit card, or cryptocurrency information into the e-wallet app. The app allows the user to directly pay for goods or services using their mobile device. Some mobile wallet providers include Alipay, ApplePay, Google Pay, Venmo and Samsung Pay. This allows the customer’s private credit or banking information to be shielded and remain private.

Impacts of Mobile Payment Technology and New Wallet Developments on Business

One of the big incentives for business owners to accept mobile payments is that they don’t require a large investment in technology. Also, customers find such payment arrangements more secure than credit cards because the credit card information is invisible to the vendor.

In the case of cash and checks, for the seller in developing economies, cash slows customers at the register because it is slower than using credit cards or mobile payment options. There are some percentage of customers who will move out of a retailer’s queue when the line gets too long. This situation, at best, results in a lost sale. At worst, it results in a dissatisfied and lost customer.

Checks are also falling out of favor in many developed countries, and cash also carries the risk of theft by employees. Also, bookkeeping is far easier with mobile payment options than with cash.

If a company uses rewards programs, automated mobile payment programs can easily coordinate with the rewards program. This helps companies to monitor the purchasing behavior of their customers, so they can segment and target customers with promotions.

An important e-wallet development is that, unlike checks, mobile payments are delivered immediately to the merchant’s account. There is no threat that the payment will be refused because the payment is vetted in real time. This represents a huge savings for sellers who might have to pursue bounced checks with banks and law enforcement, resulting in greater costs for the retrieval of a lost payment. Direct Benefits to Sellers Who Accept Mobile Payments -

Sellers who accept mobile payments will receive more sales from customers because they are providing more convenient ways to pay.

Another mobile wallet development allows all types of small business owners accept a payment wherever they may be, such as a tutor who accepts payments at the client’s home. Also, a small, organic farm can accept mobile payments at the local farmer’s market. Sellers at arts and craft or trade shows can also accept a mobile payment.

The hardware to accept mobile payments for a seller who is off-site is so small that it can fit in your pocket. There are card readers for credit cards, and the seller’s phone can connect with their buyer through NFC signals to make an e-wallet transaction.

There are no worries about security for either the customer or the seller because the transaction is encrypted, and the customer’s credit or banking information is not stored. Thus, companies do not suffer the headaches, costs and loss of reputation of a data breach on mobile payment transactions.

Since mobile payments are stored electronically, it is easy for business owners to utilize the data in order to target customers with additional offers designed to increase repeat sales.

The Future of Mobile Wallet Development and Roll-Outs

Even though there is quite a bit of adoption of mobile payments in the marketplace, both by consumers and by businesses, mobile payment acceptance by sellers is still in its initial growth phase. The following are some developments in mobile wallet use are already beginning to occur.

More Implementation in the Developing World: In the future, we will see wallet developments that allow for even more integration of mobile payments in the developing world. People who do not qualify for bank accounts or do not live near bank branches can set up accounts that will help them conduct many of the daily transactions that people already do with bank accounts, such as paying for goods and services as well as bills and transferring money with peers.

More Implementation for People in the Developed World Who Are Locked Out of Banking: In many developed countries, world recessions, high costs of housing and austerity measures by governments have so ruined the credit of some consumers that they are barred by the banking establishment from opening a banking account. As with people in developing countries, the ability to make all or most of the same transactions as those who have bank accounts will drive them to mobile payment systems, as many have been driven to prepaid debit cards today.

More Use of Loyalty Programs Tied to Mobile Payment Options: As customers move more towards full adoption of mobile payment options, merchants will tie the loyalty program into the mobile payment app that their store will offer. Then, the app will notify them of sales, discounts and rewards on a more regular basis than they may currently engage with such reward programs where the notification of rewards is through mail, email or on a company’s website. Instead, their phone will inform them of such offers.

Mobile Wallet Integration: There are already developers who are integrating apps that allow some of the major e-wallets to work with their point of sale software. This is how loyalty programs and insight into big data sales metrics can be integrated into mobile wallet app usage with ease on the seller’s side of transactions.

Wallet developments, now and in the future, have set the stage for mobile wallet payments to be easy, secure, fast and convenient for customers and businesses. For businesses and consumers, there is the added convenience that e-wallets are a fraud-free platform.

Chetu, mobile wallet app developers, provide custom mobile wallet solutions, e-wallet development and mobile wallet integration between the major e-wallet apps and most major POS software. They were founded in 2000 and are a global provider of enterprise-grade software development solutions for startups, SMBs and Fortune 5,000 companies.