Last Updated on January 21, 2022

Making cash payments on the delivery of products or in exchange of goods is quite old school. Cash has gradually been replaced by the plastic cards which have helped the economy become cashless making it easy for people as they do not have to carry their money or bags with them. Even better, the introduction of e-Wallet mobile apps has made it, even more, easier as users can now make all payments with the help of their devices. Mobile wallet applications as new ways of payments have come into being with the emergence of eCommerce and making payments contactless in the wake of the global pandemic has given rise to several digital payments companies and eWallet mobile app.

What Are Mobile Wallet Mobile Apps?

digital pyaments app interfaceWhile an ordinary wallet might be stacked with a lot of cards and money, the e-wallets act as a solution offering the users to save their card information in them and make payments simply by scanning a QR code or entering the number of the payee. The money gets deducted from their accounts directly and is transferred to the bank accounts of the payee. This has not only simplified transactions but has also made people quite efficient in making a quick transfer of money.

Remember the days when we used to add a payee to our bank accounts via online banking. The procedure used to be very long wherein we have to add endless details of the payee, enter OTP codes several times and wait for an hour or so before making any transfer to that person. Well, the current scenario is no more the same as payments are easily done with just a few clicks.

The evolution of eCommerce has been commendable, which has carved a way for the eWallet mobile applications as well. These two go hand in hand. This is the right time to invest your money in developing an eWallet app for your company if you have been thinking about it.

Users have the ability to make payments even when they’re not carrying their wallets with them, or maybe if they forget their wallets at home. Nothing can stop them from indulging in doing retail if they have their mobile devices and eWallet apps installed. Most of the outlets, stores, and companies now only accept money transfer via one of these digital payments apps, rather than taking cash.

Types of money Transaction Methods in Digital Payments App

Since the eCommerce has emerged as a winner in all situations and the dependence of people on it for retail therapy and for ordering essential items has increased to an unapologetically great extent, it has given rise to the e-Wallets as well. There are several methods through which one can make online payments these days. Let’s talk at length about these methods:

1. NFC (Near Field Communication)

nfc digital payments app
This is a completely contactless chip-enabled mode of payment. In this case, one does not have to touch any other device, but just be in proximity so that his device is read by the receiver’s pay pad. Within a reach of three to four inches, the payment can be made. This technology might not be available in old smartphones, but the new phones are all being integrated with this mode of payment so as to avoid any contact between the users and the sellers in the near future.

2. Mobile Wallets Apps

Nothing new to us as we have talked about in detail above and will continue to share some features, tech stack, team, and cost of making these applications. The best eWallets that have changed the way transactions are done include the likes of Google Wallet, Cash App, Due, Samsung Pay, Android Pay, Paypal, Alipay, and Venmo among others.

3. Sound Waves Based Payment Methods

Giving contactless payment a boost, this is a unique method of payment that allows one to make a transaction with the help of sound waves released by a smartphone. This feature can be integrated into any sort of device including smartphones, feature phones, card swipe machines, etc.

4. Internet Banking

Got an account in a leading bank of the country? Well, then you might be having an access to internet banking as well. This method has been in play for a couple of years now. Almost all national and international banks have mandated online (internet) banking these days. Under this sort of payment, the users have to first add a payee to their account by adding in all their details correctly. The second step is to receive an OTP on their phones that allow them to add the payee. Then they have to wait for some time or maybe days for the person to be added to their payee list, and voila, you are ready to make any transactions.

5. Direct Carrier Billing

Mostly used by people in the undeveloped areas where several methods of online payments are still missing, this sort of payment is also easy to do. One can make purchases and ask the seller to directly add the billed amount to the phone bills that they receive monthly.

Types of Mobile e-Wallet Applications

Closed e-Wallets

Have you heard of Walmart Pay and noticed that the payment made through the mobile wallet can only be done for the purchase of products on that app? These companies have been functioning for a long time, but the e-wallet payment system was integrated into them sometime later. These wallets can only be used for a particular app and cannot be used to make other online payments.

Semi-Closed e-Wallets

This one is more provides more leverage to the users than the closed e-wallets kind. In this case, the users are at the benefit of using these wallets to make payments at the stores that have signed a deal with the e-wallet company. These might be available only on certain outlets and not all of them. Therefore, it is called the half-closed or semi-closed e-wallets.

Open e-Wallets

These are the most commonly used e-wallets as these can be installed in either Android phones, iOS phones, or maybe both, if it is compatible with all networks. These are quite easy to use and make the end number of transactions. Users have been mostly using apps like Google Pay and Paytm, that fall under this category.

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Why Develop eWallet Mobile app – Market Size and Statistics

Technology has carved away for a brighter future of e-Wallets and helping start-ups make a good deal out of their app. The market has seen a tremendous rise in the users and their behavior towards adapting to this new change is commendable. This is all visible through the statistics and the growth of this market. Take a look at some of the stats of the market and app growth in this industry:

  • According to a study, the market for mobile wallets will grow at a CAGR of 28.2 percent, from USD 1043 billion to 7580.1 billion in 2027. This growth can tell how religious users have been using these apps.
  • It is estimated according to research that by the end of 2023, the global e-Wallet market will see a rise at CADR of 15 percent, to $ 2.1 trillion.
  • A research conducted by Juniper Research in 2017, it was estimated that there would be a hike of 32 percent in the money spent via these wallets.

Share of Payment Methods as Percentage of eCommerce Transactions Worldwide 2019

payment methods of total ecommerce transaction worldwide 2019 by region

Take a look at the graphical representation of the increase in Online Payments from 2016 through 2018.online purchases using digital wallets

Industries that Propel the Rise of Mobile Wallet Applications

1. eCommerce Industry

Mostly every person owns a smartphone and they are all looking for products either for home use, or luxury on ecommerce apps. There have people who have a deep inclination towards purchasing goods online. With the coming of age apps that have bridged the gap between the sellers and the buyers, the number of e-wallets has increased and given way to several small companies and start-ups to do well in the industry. The boost has been enormous and we can only think of it to be doing well because of the trend seen in user’s behavior in purchasing more products online. It also eradicates the need for cash on delivery as users mostly like to make prepaid payments.

2. On-demand Food and Grocery Apps

We are all aware of how well the on-demand industry is doing right now. The global pandemic has made people more cautious who are gradually moving to these apps to order their food and grocery, rather than stepping out of their houses to make the purchase. With social distancing and self-isolation becoming the new norm, the on-demand industry has seen a huge growth in the sector. And to make payments convenient for the users, these apps have been integrated with several online payments, the most used being the e-wallets. Almost all people are making payments via either of the e-wallet platforms they have installed and subscribed to in their devices.

Also Read: How to develop a Grocery delivery mobile app or Food delivery mobile app

3. On-Demand Taxi Booking

Making a booking for a cab and paying cash? Well, this scenario has gotten quite old and not prevalent in most cases. While people have changed priorities, their health being of the utmost importance, they have started making payments through the e-wallets in this case as well. Firstly, it helps in maintaining transparency among the users and the app owners, secondly, it is the most easiest and effective way to do a transaction.

Learn: How to Develop a Taxi Booking mobile app?

4. Online Bill Pay

Gone are the days when you had to go to an electricity board address to make the payment of electricity consumed by you in a month. One can easily do it sitting at home and at ease. This facility has not only made payments easier but has helped users make timely payments. Almost all e-wallets allow their users to pay all their due bills through the app. This includes the phone bill, gas bill, electricity bill among others.

5. Ticketing and Booking

Another one of the important industries that have left no stone unturned in making e-wallets a success is the ticketing and booking industry. Now users can make the maximum use of these wallets to book their plane, bus, and train tickets. They can also make movies and concert bookings with its help.

Learn: How to develop an Event Ticketing and Booking mobile app?

Mobile Wallet Usage Around the World

Mobile Wallet Use Around the World
Source: Payments Cards and Mobile

Monetization opportunities offered by wallet apps

1. eCommerce Enablement

These wallets enable the users to start their own business and start selling their products online through their apps. One can also allow other businesses to enter a contract with you and sell their products on a platform you offer. You earn a part of the profits made by those companies. While attracting new customers you can become a platform with a good user base letting more companies and brands notice your platform. The clients might contact you to allow them to integrate your payment gateway with their app.

2. Commission on Billing

The app used by a person gets a percentage for each transaction made by the user. One of the most common ways of monetization, this one is most common in the case of open e-wallets.

3. Advertising

Well, we know all apps thrive on advertisements. You can offer space on your app to the third-party brands and earn an income from that. The fees of displaying the advertisement depend on the time it is displayed for and space it is placed on.

Top Mobile Wallet App Across the Globe

Top Mobile Wallet Apps Across the GlobeSome of the popular digital payments or e-wallet mobile apps and services are:

General Features of eWallet Mobile App

User Panel Features

  • User Registration via email or social profile
  • Add/authorize bank account
  • Add amount
  • Check account balance
  • Pay Bills or set autopay
  • Transfer money
  • Budget management tool
  • Split bills
  • View transaction history
  • POS integration
  • Send payment requests
  • Accept payments
  • Send invites and get referral points

Merchant Panel Features

  • Login to an interactive dashboard
  • Add/manage products
  • Generate QR code
  • Manage customers
  • Add promotional offers & discounts
  • Offer loyalty points and rewards
  • Manage staff & employees
  • Manage EMI payment options
  • Push notifications

Admin Panel

  • Secure login to an interactive dashboard
  • Manage Users
  • Real-Time Analytics
  • Manage Users & Merchants
  • Add New Offers
  • Manage/extend security
  • Revenue Management
  • Users data control
  • Reporting & Auditing

Advance Features of Mobile Wallet Apps

1. Push Notification

This feature allows the app owners to offer the benefit of receiving notifications of all transactions to the users. It gives a sense of belonging to the users who get to know each detail of their account and the money transacted through their account through the application.

2. Social Login and Signup

A user is able to sign up and register to the app with the help of their credentials saved on any other social media platform. This saves them time and the effort of entering all his details over and over again. Also, it is important for each user to have his own login details to be able to make transactions easily and have all the history of their present and previous transactions.

3. QR Code Readers

qr code in a digital wallet appWe’ve all been using some or the other e-wallets and it’s been a while now. What is it that makes these payments easy and accessible? The QR code reader allows each user to make contactless payments just by scanning the QR code of the seller through the camera of their phones and directly being redirected to the seller’s account. This helps them in making transactions directly to the account of the payee.

4. Better Management of Personal Expense

You know how much you’ve spent on buying products or availing services in a month. The history tab allows you to access all transactions and get a better understanding of how much money has been spent by you as all transactions are recorded in it. This helps the users in making decisions regarding their expenses.

5. Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty is something that all apps vouch for and to make the experience more enhanced by offering them loyalty benefits. These loyalty programs can be in any form, like collecting loyalty points and spending them in the future, letting them earn some amount of money or scratch cards on each transaction. This helps these apps in retaining the users and building a sense of belonging in them.

6. CRM System

Customer Relationship Management helps the users in getting assistance at any point of time. This does not let the users get stuck at any place, but allow them to talk to the customer representatives in case of any issue.

7. Real-Time Analytics

The dashboard allows the admin to get an understanding of the real-time analytics of their app. Each transaction made at a particular time is brought to light through the app. The app owners can get the information on all the transactions made in a day or a particular point of time and also the state of the app and its performance.

8. Wearable Integration

It is easy to carry the devices with yourself anywhere on which the app is installed. Therefore, it is easy for any user to make use of it from any place without having them carry their wallets or cash for transactions.

9. Virtual Card

Users get their own personalized and unique numbers, which act more like a virtual card that is used to make payments. This boosts the cashless economy making the users smart enough to carry their mobile devices at each place.

10. eCommerce Integration

Once your app starts doing well and gains recognition among users and brands, companies start contacting them to sell their products on their platform. The app can therefore allow some retail therapy to the users along with luring them by offering discounts.

11. Online Bills and Recharges

These apps enable users to make their bill payments as well. Gone are the days when you had to go to an electricity board address to make the payment of electricity consumed by you in a month. One can easily do it sitting at home and at ease. This facility has not only made payments easier but has helped users make timely payments. Almost all e-wallets allow their users to pay all their due bills through the app. This includes the phone bill, gas bill, electricity bill among others.

12. Promotional Tools

Since the competition amongst the e-wallet apps has gone high, each one of them has to lure their users by offering them promotional offer and discounts. They can directly post about these offers on the home page of their apps and allow the users to avail them directly.

13. Chatbot Support

It enhances the user experience as they can get help from the assistance staff at any time of the day.

Things That Need to Consider While Developing an eWallet App

Regulatory Compliance

Each e-wallet app should comply with the rules laid by the regulatory, therefore it should be built on the framework accordingly. This helps in avoiding any risks in the future and conducting fair and transparent transactions.

User Data Security

The app should be properly encrypted not giving way to any sort of breach to the details collected from the users. A single leakage of any data whatsoever can affect the reliability of the app.

Fraud risk

The app owners should be prepared to avoid any sort of fraud risk in the app. Since it is an app that deals in money transactions, a lot of frauds are likely to happen, therefore the app developers should make sure to make it risk-free for the future. The money laundering risk is usually from anonymous accounts which are difficult to track, and since the app owners are answerable to the users, they should be able to avoid this right from the beginning itself.

Tech Stack Required to Develop an e-Wallet Mobile App

  • For SMS, Voice and Phone Verification: Nexmo
  • For Payment: Braintree, PayPal, PayUMoney, and Stripe
  • For front-end: Angular, Javascript, HTML5 and CSS
  • For database: HBase, MongoDB, Cassandra, and MailChimp Integrations
  • For cloud environment: Google Cloud, Salesforce, Azure and AWS
  • For push notifications: Push.IO, Twilio, Amazon SNS, Urban Airship
  • For data management: Datastax
  • For email management: Mandrill
  • For real-time analytics: Big Data, Hadoop, Spark, and Apache
  • For QR code scanning: ZBar Code reader

Team Structure Required for Developing a Mobile Wallet App

  • App developers
  • Front-end developers
  • Back-end developers
  • UX/UI designers
  • Quality Analyst
  • Business Analyst
  • Project Manager

How Much Does It Cost To Develop a Mobile Wallet App?

Developing a basic mobile wallet app can cost you around $ 25,000 to $ 50,000, while a more complex e-wallet app with advanced features can cost somewhere between $ 90,000 and $ 150,000.

For Android

The basic app with basic features costs between $ 20,000 to $ 45,000 and the advanced app might range between $ 80,000 to 150,000.

For iOS

The basic app with basic features costs between $ 25,000 to $ 55,000 and the advanced app might range between $ 100,000 to 150,000.

We have mentioned the pricing of the apps above, however, it may vary depending upon certain factors such as the following:

  • Geographical location
  • Team or agency appointed to build the app
  • Complexity of design
  • Number of features to be included in the app

Conclusion

Are you planning to develop a mobile wallet app and still thinking about turning your dream into reality? Well, you should hurry up and get in touch with the app developers and start working on it as soon as possible. Sit down and ponder over all the features you want to include in your app and start trying to get in touch with experienced mobile app developers. Hiring the best team can help you get an excellent application.

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Author

CTO at Emizentech and a member of the Forbes technology council, Amit Samsukha, is acknowledged by the Indian tech world as an innovator and community builder. He has a well-established vocation with 12+ years of progressive experience in the technology industry. He directs all product initiatives, worldwide sales and marketing, and business enablement. He has spearheaded the journey in the e-commerce landscape for various businesses in India and the U.S.