I recently got a new case for my iPhone. It has a compartment in the back large enough to carry a driver’s license and credit card. Since I have images of insurance cards and other key information on the phone itself, the phone is now “Dan’s digital wallet.” That sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? After all, there is a lot of talk about digital wallets (e-wallets) going around today.
What’s an e-wallet? Basically, it is a system that securely stores a consumer’s payment card data and other information, like consumer IDs, to facilitate shopping and electronic payments. The fact is, your campus commerce software may already be using an early form of e-wallet called a stored payment profile. The profille makes it easy for your constituents to pay you without digging out credit cards or bank account numbers. Other industry offerings may soon expand the concept of e-wallets to a more universally accepted method.
In the meantime, it’s important not to confuse e-wallets with mobile payments. They are not the same. The swirl of excitement around pending e-wallet technology tends to hide the fact that mobile commerce is here, now. In the U.S., mobile shopping rose by 200% to over $1 billion from 2009 to 2010 according to a study by ABI Research. eBay reports that one item is now purchased every two seconds using the eBay mobile app. Even mobile banking is on the rise; according to TowerGroup, 29% of adult U.S. smartphone users now do banking transactions with their phones. How long will it be before mobile phones and tablets will be the preferred devices to register for classes, pay their bills, or make donations?
No doubt about it, people are moving away from mobile web for “fun” to mobile web for “function.” This is true at colleges and universities, too. So, don’t delay your move to m-commerce waiting for a universal e-wallet.
P.S. I’m looking forward to a true “digital wallet” so my phone will once again be thin enough to fit in my pocket!