More than 6.6 billion people in the world now own a smartphone. This means almost 17 people in every 20 have mobile access to the internet with the huge range of features that smartphones offer. In the U.S. alone, 41% of customers bank using their mobile phone and this is set to increase. Banks and other payment providers must offer user-friendly, mobile-based apps and services to meet the needs of their increasingly digital customers.
Within the financial services sector, there are a few different options for managing money and making payments online via your smartphone. Their features often overlap so terminology can get confusing. So, we’re explaining the difference between cash/payment apps and digital wallets.
Cash and payment apps
The most popular cash/payment apps used in the U.S. are Venmo, Cash App, Paypal and Apple Pay. These are mobile apps that allow you to link to your debit card or bank account so that you can transfer money quickly to friends or family or make payments to businesses online. With many payment apps, there are no transaction fees for sending money via your account balance, linked debit card or bank account but there are often charges from credit cards.
Other features of cash/payment apps often include the ability to split the bill between different people such as a group of friends, and some also have limited financial investment platforms for trading cryptocurrency. Some apps also offer their own debit and credit cards, which makes them more like a digital wallet.
Digital or mobile wallets
A digital wallet is a storage device in the same way that a physical wallet could be used to hold your debit and credit cards. In that and other ways, they are like payment apps but with more features. For example, having a digital wallet on your smartphone allows you to make contactless payments at many businesses. A digital wallet can also store other information such as e-tickets (for travel or events), vouchers, gift cards and even COVID travel passes. In addition, some digital wallets offer further features such as exclusive discounts or rewards from retailers or the ability to track and analyze your spending.
Examples of mobile wallets include Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet. The distinction between a digital wallet and a payment app may be negligible for a user – some payment apps such as Google Pay and Apple Pay function as both a payment app and a digital wallet.
There are even multicurrency wallets that let you pay, receive, and hold multiple international currencies in one digital wallet instead of having separate accounts for each currency. This type of wallet can make international travel, business and money transfers easier.
Advantages of digital wallets
Convenience
A digital wallet allows you to quickly make contactless payments, send money to friends and check your balance all from your phone. There’s no need to carry cash or your cards with you when you go out, just your phone.
Security
Many apps require a password, fingerprint or face recognition to use them, so they offer better protection against fraud than a plastic credit card does. In addition, as payments are made digitally, encryption of the information makes the transaction very secure.
Health
You may prefer to use contactless payments so you don’t have to handle cash or enter your pin which can reduce the risk of picking up germs and viruses.
Accessibility
Information is available at your fingertips. A digital wallet enables you to access your current balance and make money transfers and payments much more quickly and easily.
Working together for a better service
Because we at Western Union are always looking to make doing business with us easier, many of our international money transfer services can be funded or received using Apple Pay or Google Pay and other similar apps, allowing users to send cross-border payments to family and friends all over the world.
Download our international money transfer app today from your app store or our website, and see how easy it is to get money to loved ones in a hurry.
