Mobile Wallets. What do Mobile app developers need to know?

A Mobile Wallet is a virtual wallet containing the information about your bank and credit cards that you like to share with the third party merchants. This mobile wallet concept is a unique combination of technological and financial information to solve problems in the 21st Century. For this reason, mobile wallets are being discussed about more frequently than ever before. Therefore, Now, money can be transferred and commercial activity can be carried out at ease of a mobile gadget.

This mobile wallet solves multiple problems of theft, carrying extra cash, emergency situations, etc. Research shows that mobile wallets working on contactless technology is going to be in the number of 200 million by 31st December 2016. That means an absolute 100% growth from the figure as on 31st December 2014. 

Out of every six US nationals, at an average one person is believed to have utilized mobile wallets in the past 6 months and experts estimate that extra 22% will utilize mobile wallets in the upcoming 6 months. 

Mobile wallet can be used for variety commercial places like online stores, online ticket booking purpose, offline transactions and all these without carrying any physical money!

Mobile App Developers need to keep themselves with the concepts and latest innovations in mobile wallets to take it further. Developers need to have information about following aspects of Mobile Wallets.

Mobile Wallets Categories

Usually there are 4 individual kinds of mobile wallets

1) open

2) closed

3) semi-close

4) semi-open

Users can make payments for services and goods using a mobile wallet. Further, user is also enabled to use open wallets for the purpose of money transfers and cash withdrawals. Users can use closed wallets to make payments for services and goods on specific retailers or web store.

Semi-closed and semi-open mobile wallets, don’t permit cash withdrawal from banks or ATMs. Users of semi-open wallets are enabled on making payment to merchants associated with issuing company. Semi-closed wallets enable users to make payments just to listed merchants or listed locations.

Mobile App Developers must ensure that the users are able to make payment while utilizing any mobile wallet type.

How to use Mobile Wallet:

Mobile wallets are crafted to be a container that stores explicit digitalized information. Latest mobile gadgets have an inbuilt mobile wallet. Users have option to download plus install mobile wallets additionally. Upon installing the wallet, user is required to put in credit or debit card info. Users can directly move funds to the mobile wallet a/c using credit/debit cards or net banking. In the mobile wallet, the card information is recorded for future use like loading wallet during insufficient fund in the wallet, and reloading it etc. To issue payment, user can either enter the mobile wallet technology details during checkout else can even select the credit/debit card. User may issue payments at retail stores simply by displaying his mobile gadget at the payment counter with proper authentication.

1) Security
Undoubtedly, the data stores is quite critical and must be secured reliably. The mobile wallet is like a bank account and it keeps the financial credentials and data of the user in terms of credit card details or debit card details but, the same must be kept under highly secured environment. The security features must prevent identity thefts and financial frauds. Mobile app developers must apply data encryption techniques like high bit encryption technology and multi tier encryptions to prevent every possible types of security issues and make sure that the data is inaccessible and completely secure. Even the card number is not to be revealed entirely to the merchants. App developers must also incorporate an additional security layer and win customers trust immediately.

2) Verification
EVERY client must be able to utilize his mobile wallet to issue payments at both web and local stores. But he has to go through a verification process before he can access digitalized values stored in the container. He will be required to enter a fingerprint, password or pin to avail the digitalized values and make payment through the application. So the app developers must permit users to select from a number of verification options. Also, they need to ensure that every verification option correctly identifies the user. This is the most important part of this concept and should be cared the most.

3) Incorporation with as many partners as possible:

As a software developer, you must ensure that your application is truly beneficial as per the customers or users needs. Users need more options so your app must have all these benefits. Mobile wallets can be used in various places like coffee shop, Pizza shop, Restaurants, e-commerce sites, online booking etc. So, it’s better to make your wallet open for every possible stores for the users. This will definitely boost your wallet popularity among the users.

4) Loyalty Program

To win customers and tap them for more business, almost all mobile wallets incorporate a merchant loyalty program card within the wallet. Developers must make sure that the customer experience remains hassle-free. Customers must be able to easily and conveniently manage, redeem and collect loyalty points. Moreover, many mobile wallet merchants are giving freedom to the users to use their pre-existing loyalty cards like credit card points or even Payback cards so that, they can get advantage of these loyalty programmes in a hassle free manner. This improves customer experience and satisfaction about using the application.

5) Digital Coupons

Nowadays, mobile wallets also come with Digital Coupons that can even be stored within the mobile wallet. The Wallets usually has features to facilitate merchants to grant discounts, coupons, daily deals and promotions. The merchant should ecampaign for all these sorts of offers or coupons through email to their users. On a routine basis, Emails should be fired as per the current offers for their wallet users so that, users can take benefit of the same. Also, the app must have features to help customers to redeem coupons conveniently and securely.

Before starting to develop a  mobile wallet, a strategy should be devised to ensure a better product and greater accomplishment in a highly competitive business. Every mobile wallet helps in the transformation of the users’ smartdevice into a digitized physical wallet. There is no doubt that mobile wallets are growing by leaps and bounds. Mobile App developers must know all about mobile wallets and bring about unique set of services to win customers and patrons.