Ultimate Guide to Digital Wallet App Development in 2022

The adoption of mobile wallets is increasing worldwide as it benefits the users in multiple ways. For instance, faster checkout via contactless payment, rewards for purchases, seamless transactions, etc. 

It is estimated that by 2023, there will be nearly 1.31 billion mobile payment transactions, as per Statista. Thus, digital wallets will take over the online world. 

If you’re thinking of developing digital wallets for better business growth, read this blog till the end.

Here, we have listed everything about the digital wallet app that you must know.

Table of Contents:

• What is a digital wallet app?

• Types of digital wallet app

• Why should you develop a digital wallet app?

• 5 popular digital wallet apps for online transaction

• Step-By-Step Guide for Digital Wallet App Development

• What Is the Cost of a Digital Wallet App Development?

• Final thoughts

What Is a Digital Wallet App? 

As the term implies, digital wallet apps allow users to make payments using their smartphones. The app is also known by the term ‘eWallets.’ 

eWallets are accessible on Android and iOS operating systems. Digital wallet apps, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, store the credit/debit card details to process the payment. 

Digital wallet apps are the new generation’s payment mode that delivers an excellent user experience by introducing a smooth transaction method. 

Following are the top 5 uses cases offered by digital wallets: 

• Payments

The primary use case of a digital wallet is the payment functionality between wallets and bank to bank. Users enter their credit/debit card details in their wallets and make a payment securely. 

• Bill Payment Options

Digital wallets enable users to pay their electricity or water bills smoothly. Split bill is also one of the functionalities in digital wallets that users can use when sharing the group restaurant bills. 

• Rewards, Coupons, and Discounts

You (as a business owner) can expand customer loyalty by adding personalized features like rewards, coupons, and discounts to your digital wallet app. 

• Financial Guidance

Mobile wallets have another useful functionality, and that is financial guidance. eWallets has financial tools and guidance, including salary deposits, bonus payments, transactional capabilities, loyalty, and reward programs. 

Financial guidance also helps access the user’s retirement or section 401(k) plans, gamified financial guidance.

• Budgeting and Planning

Digital wallets have budgeting and planning functionality that lets users monitor their overall spending and savings. eWallet helps track the expense, maintain a monthly budget, and allow users to save money. It showcases all the categories where the user is spending money like entertainment, traveling, food, or recharge. 

Digital wallets are also integrated with user, merchant, and admin panel’s features that are followed as:

User Panel Features

The user panel is a section that shows all the user-related activities, like profile, notifications, settings, etc. 

Features:

1. Signup via the email address or phone number
2. Add authorized bank account
3. Verification option via pin, pattern, and Face ID
4. QR code scanner
5. Transfer money or pay bills
6. Check account balance
7. View transaction history
8. Language selection
9. Chat support
10. Notification

Merchant Panel Features

Merchant panel is integrated with several features that help manage products, maintain order lists, offer discounts, customer interaction, etc.

Features:

1. Log in to an interactive dashboard
2. Add/manage products
3. Verification option via pin, pattern, and Face ID
4. Manage customers
5. Add promotional offers & discounts
6. Offer loyalty points and rewards
7. Manage staff and employees
8. Push notifications

Admin Panel Features

Admin panel is incorporated with several features that benefit the admin to manage customers and merchants.

Features:

1. Secure login to an interactive dashboard
2. Generate QR code
3. Manage users & merchants
4. Real-time analytics
5. Focus on maintaining the app’s security
6. Reporting & auditing

Types of Digital Wallets

• Closed Wallet

Companies develop closed wallets for a targeted audience to sell products. The individual is entitled to use a closed wallet only with the wallet issuer for any transaction. 

Closed wallet benefits online retailers, franchises, eCommerce service providers, independent sales, or multi-tier organizations. 

One of the well-known coffeehouse chains ‘Starbucks’ also leverages the digital wallet app’s features. Starbucks is the second player in digital wallet apps with 31.2 million users, shared by a report.

Key Features of Closed Wallet:

• Caters limited customers
• In case of transaction cancellation, the entire amount is stored in the wallet.

• Semi-Closed Wallet

Semi-closed is another type of wallet that lets users make payments at the listed merchants or stores. This digital wallet keeps the user’s data safe in one place. 

A semi-closed wallet is easy to use as it adds multiple addresses and simultaneously keeps the user’s information confidential. Apple Pay and Venmo are two great examples of semi-closed wallets. 

Key Features of Semi-Closed Wallet:

• Facilitates smooth transactions and seamless refunds
• Users can send money to another recipient in the same wallet network.

• Open Wallet

An open wallet is partnered with banks that lets users manage their payments online and tracks the entire transaction process. This digital wallet is flexible that quickly transfers the funds or allows users to make payments at the store at any time.  

It is essential to have both sender’s and receivers’ accounts on the same application to make any payment. PayPal is one of the well-known open wallets that delivers an excellent user experience. 

Key Features of Open Wallet:

• Open wallets are used directly in a third party application

Why Should You Develop a Digital Wallet App? 

Technology advancement has given rise to digital wallet apps, and it’s not stopping any time soon. From Apple Pay to Google Pay and PayPal, everyone is leveraging the features of a digital wallet. The significant reason that has boosted the digital wallet sector is the convenient checkout process. 

eWallets lets users buy any product or service from their smartphones in a few taps. Most importantly, mobile wallets have fewer fraud risks as it secures the user’s payment information by adding features, like face ID or setting strong passwords. 

5 Popular Digital Wallet Apps for Online Transaction

• Apple Pay

One of the popular digital wallet apps is Apple Pay, established by Apple. It lets iOS users make a contactless payment. Apple Pay is supported by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Apple Card. 

Key Features of Apple Pay-

• Apple Pay is an in-built app in the device

Apple Pay is by default present in Apple devices, like iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad. 

• Use Apple Cash with Apple Pay

Apple Pay supports Apple Cash, which works like a debit card. It lets users send or receive the money right in messages by setting up the Apple Cash card in the Wallet app.

• User’s every purchase stays private

Apple Pay does not collect any transaction data while paying with a credit or debit card. While using Apple Cash, the information is stored for troubleshooting, fraud prevention, and regulatory purposes.

• Google Pay

Google has launched its digital wallet known as Google Pay. It is a fast and simple way to shop online or in stores. Google Pay is integrated with Google products, like Gmail. 

Google Pay (a semi-closed wallet app) also uses NFC technology for easy payment processing. Users can receive or send money by simply linking the bank account or setting up the UPI pin.  

Key Features of Google Pay-

• Fraud alerts while sending money

Google Pay sends fraud alerts while making payments to someone not in the user’s contact list using machine learning. It identifies phishing or any other fraud risk while sending or receiving money. 

• Only users can pay with their phone

Google Pay demands authentication via pattern, pin, or biometric while opening the app for making a payment. 

• Easy-to-use privacy controls

With Google Pay, users have an option whether to use the transaction history for a better user experience within the app or not.

• PayPal

PayPal is another essential digital wallet app that lets users transfer funds or make online payments. This digital wallet app is accessible on Android and iOS. 

PayPal has many features that help keep the accounts secure. These features include end-to-end data encryption, two-factor account authentication, and email confirmation for transactions. 

Key Features of PayPal-

• Protection for your account and purchases

With PayPal, users don’t have to share their complete financial information as it is secured using data encryption during every transaction. 

• Get paid on an online marketplace

With PayPal, entrepreneurs can sell their products on a different platform and track their PayPal transactions in one place.

• Zelle

Zelle is also a digital wallet app that lets users send money easily between U.S. bank accounts within a few minutes. Enter your email address or phone number, and get ready to send or receive money as quickly as possible with robust security. 

Key Features of Zelle-

• Use Zelle with friends at other banks

Zelle digital wallet app is functional across all the US-based banks, which means you can safely send and receive money to a different bank.

• Free to use for family or friends 

While sending money to their family or friends, Zelle won’t charge extra money for transactions.

• Skrill

Skrill is another well-known digital wallet provider that offers a wide range of online money transfer services. From trading to shopping and gaming, Skrill manages the payment method seamlessly.

Key Features of Skrill- 

• Multiple payment options

With Skrill, users can make payments from over 100 local payment methods for easier-cross selling across borders. 

• One-touch payments

Skrill offers a frictionless checkout process and delivers a better user experience. This digital wallet app lets users make repeat payments with a single touch.

Step-By-Step Guide for Digital Wallet App Development

• Discovery Stage

Begin the digital wallet app development by discovering your app’s ideas, vision, purpose, and goals. In this stage, you can visualize as many app ideas as you want, identify the technical requirements, and match technology availability in the market. 

Define the following requirements and get a better version for your app.

• What are your expectations from the digital wallet app?
• Which technology will you pick to develop the digital wallet app?
• How much budget have you set for the digital wallet app?

• Conduct Market Research

In the next stage, conduct market research in order to get familiar with your targeted audience’s preferences and know what your competitors are up for. You can conduct market research by preparing questionnaires and surveys. 

With the help of market research, business owners get better ideas on how to strengthen their market position or what are the emerging trends. Lastly, with the help of market research, entrepreneurs gain the insights of services offered by the competitors in order to stay ahead of the curve.

• Custom UI/UX Design

Digital wallet app’s user interface effectively impacts the targeted users, so make it count. Try to make the app’s UI feature-rich, user-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing to attract your intended audience. 

Create an app prototyping to validate the app design and get an advanced overview of your app. 

• Start Digital Wallet App Development

After finalizing the app’s design, the coding process finally begins. Here app developers start converting UI mockups into a fully-functional digital wallet. They integrate all the necessary features and customizations to deliver a better user experience. 

Once the app development stage gets over, conduct quality assurance (QA) testing to identify any errors or issues in the app that might intervene in the digital wallet app’s further use. 

• App Launch & Promotion

Your digital wallet app is ready to get released on Play Store or App Store. Ask the app developer to launch the app on the platform of your choice and create an account with the relevant app title, screenshots, informative descriptions, and keywords. 

Also, as a business owner, you can begin to think about the marketing strategies long before the app is released. 

What Is the Cost of a Digital Wallet App Development?

The cost of a digital wallet app development depends on numerous factors that vary its development cost. 

Following are the crucial factors that determine the digital wallet app development cost:

1. Platforms on which the app will be developed
2. App’s design and size
3. App hosting and security
4. App testing
5. Post app launch maintenance and support

Get a no-obligation consultation from our team to know the estimated digital wallet app development cost. 

Final Thoughts

Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal are already making the most of this technology. And digital wallet apps will soon become the most used payment method. 

You can consider hiring a digital wallet app development company to get a high-performing app for better business growth.