According to a study by Boku, a company that deals with the promotion of digital payment methods, the number of users using mobile wallets is growing exponentially, especially in emerging countries where digital infrastructures are growing. In fact, Boku predicts that by 2025 the number of mobile wallets will grow from 2.8 billion to over 4 billion, reaching 60% of the population.
The use of mobile wallets differs by type. On the one hand, there are card-based mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. On the other hand, there are mobile wallets with pre-loaded money such as AliPay and GrabPay. The latter type seems to be more popular in emerging markets.
Both represent both an opportunity and a challenge. Boku believes that even portfolios capable of handling billions of dollars can grow. Currently there are "only" 54, there will be 69 by 2025.
There was an increase in mobile wallets in 2020 and in this first half of 2021 due to the effect of the pandemic, favoring cashless payments and greatly reducing the working capital. As I wrote in my previous post, the future is cashless and the number of digital transactions will overshadow the cash in the next 10/20 years.
Incredibly positive news for the crypto market as a greater familiarity with mobile wallets will be the cause of greater penetration of cryptocurrencies among users. I am convinced that the transition from cash to digital transactions is an inevitable and preparatory step for mass adoption. The growth of technological infrastructures such as the internet in the poorest and most emerging countries will foster greater knowledge and awareness on the part of people on the enormous possibility that cryptocurrencies offer, to protect their savings.
We are seeing a paradigm shift in payments driven by mobile wallets. Mobile wallets have lowered the barrier to making digital payments and in parallel have brought billions of new consumers to eCommerce. These consumers aren't in North America or Western Europe, they're in emerging markets, and while they don't have credit cards, they mostly have mobile wallets. For global merchants, accepting mobile payments is not about accepting one type of wallet or another, but about ensuring that consumers in each market will have the necessary selection on payment types in order to monetize transactions.
The crypto market, in parallel with the growth trend of mobile wallets, is also growing a lot in Asian emerging markets. Cardano has started a large digitization project in some regions of Africa and aims to create a large African infrastructure, bringing the internet and blockchain across the continent.
The digital transaction is an irreversible process and new simplified digital payment tools have been accelerating this transition in recent years. The digital revolution, which began in the beginning of the new century, is literally forging ahead, growing exponentially. Here is the future, the next step, a process that has already begun but at a slow pace, comparable to the speed of digitization in the early years of the new millennium, is the adoption of the blockchain that will find a strong acceleration in my opinion by the end of this decade.
I am convinced that a very bright future awaits us.