A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. Digital wallets are financial applications that allow you to store funds, make transactions, and track payment histories on devices like phones and tablets. They are a way to pay from financial accounts via computer, smartphone, or a smart device, and they ultimately eliminate much of the need to carry around an actual wallet.
Here are some key features of digital wallets:
- They securely store your payment information and passwords in the cloud.
- They allow you to pay when youre shopping using your device so that you don't need to carry your cards around.
- They can store gift cards, membership cards, loyalty cards, coupons, event tickets, and more.
- They use different technologies to process payments, and your use of a digital wallet may also be limited by where you shop.
- They generate a one-time-use token made up of random numbers when you pay for something, instead of sending your actual credit or debit card number to the merchant.
- They offer consumers a convenient, efficient, and secure method for virtual payments, tickets, gift cards, and more.
Digital wallets are composed of both digital wallet devices and digital wallet systems. There are dedicated digital wallet devices such as the biometric wallet by Dunhill, a physical device that holds cash and cards along with a Bluetooth mobile connection. Presently there are further explorations for smartphones with NFC digital wallet capabilities, such as smartphones utilizing Google's Android and Apple's iOS.
