Global Digital Wallet Market - Forecasts from 2023 to 2028

The global digital wallet market is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 21.81% to grow to US$959.915 billion by 2028, from US$241.193 billion in 2021.

Digital transactions have become fairly prevalent as a result of growing digitization. According to the World Bank, internet consumption has surged in countries all around the world. For example, internet consumption reached 60% of the world's entire population in 2020, rising from 38% in 2014. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iceland, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Liechtenstein recorded 100% internet consumption in 2021. As a result, increased internet penetration, in addition to the rising acceptance of numerous digital payments via wallets by various e-commerce enterprises, has fueled market growth. Digital wallets are bank accounts that allow users to make payments, save funds, track payments, pay bills, and perform a variety of other things using smartphones or computers/laptops. Various economies throughout the world are evolving towards a digital economy, which is leading to the mass use of digital wallets.

Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has also played a major role in boosting internet usage. People spent their time at home during the lockdown as work and education were shifted online. Due to social distancing, payment through mobile was considered a better option as payment through wallets was secure and hassle-free.

The global digital wallet market is driven by increasing government initiatives and investments.

A major factor driving the market demand for the global digital wallet is increased digitalized payment methods, as they are considered more safe and easy. As a result, the expansion of the digital wallet market is also dependent on government initiatives to support the digitization trend. For example, the Government of India started the Digital India initiative to make government services more accessible to all citizens of the nation electronically. The enhanced infrastructure for internet access, coupled with the development of new digital wallet platforms, shows the potential for market growth during the projection period and beyond. Furthermore, several policies enacted by governments throughout the world are expected to boost the market growth in the near future.

However, even in 2021, in countries of the Middle East and Africa, only 52.8% of the population has ownership of a financial institution, according to the World Bank. Therefore, to remove such hindrances and uplift digital payments, many countries across the MEA are taking up effective initiatives. For instance, in 2020, UAE developed a national digital cash replacement platform that allows banked as well as unbanked consumers to make cash payments. The replacement platform is a digital wallet that has been by Emirates Digital Wallet (EDW). The initiative is part of a nationwide program in eliminating the use of physical cash in the country.

Key Developments.

• HUMBL, Inc., a US-based provider of merchant services software, announced the integration of BLOCKS into its HUMBL Pay mobile wallet in January 2022, allowing users to buy BLOCKS via gasless, peer-to-peer transactions.
• Meta released its wallet service in June 2022 as a generic form of payment that could be used in both the real world and the metaverse's virtual reality. The wallet service, Meta Pay, is a modification of Facebook Pay. According to the company, utilizing Meta Pay may provide the consumer access to a wider range of digital items that come with certificates of ownership.
• In January 2023, a new application called European Digital Identity Wallet, which is only an official digital wallet that anybody may carry on their smartphones, was just unveiled by the EU. This system will be used for a variety of tasks, such as making official payments like penalties or taxes and running official government businesses. The application will be launched in 2024.

Smartphones have also made it easier for digital wallet providers to reach consumers through mobile apps, which can be downloaded and used with minimal effort. This ease of use has made digital wallets an attractive alternative to traditional payment methods, particularly in a country like India where many people still rely on cash-based transactions. It is estimated that India will have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026. For instance, in June 2020, Swiggy, one of India's leading food delivery platforms, partnered with ICICI Bank to introduce a digital wallet for its customers. The digital wallet, called Swiggy Money, allows customers to store money and pay for their food orders on the Swiggy platform. Customers can add money to the wallet using their debit or credit cards, and can also get instant refunds on their Swiggy Money wallet in case of cancellations or returns. The wallet also offers a range of discounts and cashback offers to customers.

Asia Pacific accounts for major shares of the global digital wallet market.

By geography, the Digital Wallet market has been segmented into North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The APAC region is a significant market for digital wallets due to the increasing awareness of digital wallets is increasing in this region, thanks to the growing adoption of mobile payments and the efforts of companies to educate consumers about the benefits of using digital wallets. Increasing access to smartphones has been a significant driver of the growing demand for digital wallet systems in India. This is because smartphones provide a platform for people to easily access digital services and conduct transactions without the need for cash or cards. As more people in India have access to smartphones, the adoption of digital wallets has become more widespread, particularly among younger generations who are more tech-savvy.

Market Segmentation:

By Device

• PC/Laptops
• Smartphones

By Application

• Money Transfer
• Recharge
• Movie Booking
• Food ordering
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Others
• Europe
• Germnay
• France
• UK
• Spain
• Others
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• Israel
• South Africa
• Others
• Asia Pacific
• China
• Japan
• South Korea
• India
• Indonesia
• Taiwan
• Others