By Mikael Lijtenstein, CEO of AstroPay

Throughout the last 12 months we have seen an increasing rise in the tendency to pay digitally. The pandemic has had a tremendous role to play in this transformation, with more people staying at home and making purchases digitally, via a PC or their mobile phones. Within this arena, digital wallets have had a significant role to play as they offer a safe and convenient purchasing method for both the user and the operator.

According to a PWC’s Payments 2025 & Beyond report, there has been a 49 percent increase in global cashless payment volumes and  89 percent agreed that the transfer towards e-commerce would continue to increase. According to Mobile & Wallets Report 2021, digital wallets had over 2.8 billion users and this figure is predicted to increase to 4.8 billion by the end of 2025. There has never been a more appropriate time to develop a digital wallet, hence why we created One Touch. AstroPay introduced OneTouch during the toughest times of the pandemic, from which its users rapidly increased to a total of more than 3.5 million worldwide, showing how highly demanded the solution is.

The trend in utilising digital wallets is rapidly rising in many parts of the globe, but the adoption rate in Asia is notably incomparable and beyond the rest of the world. In our case, India is the country where we tripled our sales figures and user growth. The increased use of smartphones and apps in the region has generally been a huge factor in the rise of innovation in the payment industry. Reports suggest that Asia is leading in cashless transactions globally, and from 2020 to 2025 it is predicted to have an average growth rate of 16%.

It’s a win for consumers 

When we launched our digital wallet back in October 2020, our main aim was to make the payment process seamless and safe for both users and merchants. Users do not like the hassle of needing to go through multiple fulfilment procedures, therefore, our approach is heavily based upon the payments journey and end-user orientation. What most payment solution providers understand is the importance to create a seamless interaction between the merchant and their customers. The main goal is to deliver good service and user experience to our customers, which means a smooth and natural journey where very minimal clicks are required to complete a transaction, producing higher engagement with the brand as well as an increased conversion rate. Thus, we are strongly inclined to move towards creating minimal user interaction at checkouts, to retain clients and prevent customers drop-off.

A win for merchants

Digital wallets are not only hugely beneficial for consumers, but merchants too. They provide consumers with a much simpler and faster shopping experiences; a complex shopping experiences is more likely to drive away customers. In the age of covid, there has never been a greater need for contactless payments, with 60% of consumers planning on using digital/contactless payments going forward as opposed to cash/coins, digital wallets could not be more convenient, allowing consumers to shop and checkout without having to touch any payment terminals or sue cash/coins.

What’s next for 2022?

In a post-pandemic world, the popularity of the digital wallet is only set to rise. In a world where strict health and safety regulations call for people to maintain social distance and avoid physical interaction, digital wallets and other forms of electronic payments continue to reign supreme. More and more businesses, if not all, will need to keep up with this trend and build the system to accommodate digital and online form of payments.

The countless benefits such as allowing users to make fast and secure payments online, withdraw cash and easily transfer money, as well as greater flexibility when paying are now becoming recognised and accepted by more and more merchants. With a rise in online shopping and the growing awareness of digital transactions, as well as an increasing number of websites and locations accepting them as a form of payment, digital wallets are only set to grow and advance in 2022.