As smartphones became ubiquitous, so did the applications that leverage their potential. Digital wallets, software-based systems that store payment information and transaction histories, have surged in popularity, heralding a new era in financial transactions and consumer behavior.

The days of bulging wallets filled with an assortment of cards, receipts, and cash are on the decline. A new age of financial transactions has dawned with the rise of digital wallets, and with it comes a myriad of opportunities and challenges.

The growth of digital wallets is being driven by a number of factors, including the rising popularity of mobile devices, the growing demand for contactless payments, and the increased security of digital wallets. Speed and convenience continue to catalyze usage growth. Physical cards are becoming too much of a hassle!

This shift to digital wallets, beyond mere convenience, symbolizes the broader trend of digitalization, reflecting modern society’s evolving needs and the seamless integration of technology into our daily routines.

The rapid rise and dominance of digital wallets have been prolific and will surely mark one of the more transformational consumer fintech trends of our lifetimes. See below for 50 statistics highlighting this seismic shift while also shedding light on the future of consumer commerce.

1. In 2022, the global total value of digital wallet transactions was $7.5 trillion, and the global mobile payment market was valued at $53.5 billion.

2. There were also 3.4 billion digital wallet users in the world, or 42.6% of the global population.

3. By 2026, the number of global digital wallet users is expected to grow by 53% to reach 5.2 billion, or over 60% of the global population.

4. The global mobile wallet market size was valued at $6.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.4% from 2022 to 2030.

5. Nearly half (49%) of global e-com transaction value in 2022 was accounted for by digital wallets.

6. The most popular digital wallets in the United States are PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

7. There are 217 million mobile wallet users in India and is expected to reach 434 million in 2025cwith the average digital wallet user spends about $200 per month.

8. Digital wallets are expected to be used to transact over $16 trillion in payments by 2028.

9. In the United States, 53% of consumers use digital wallets more than traditional payment methods.

10. The top 3 reasons why people use digital wallets are: convenience (62%), security (52%), and rewards (45%).

11. The most common use cases for digital wallets are: online shopping (53%), in-store payments (39%), and peer-to-peer payments (33%).

12. Digital wallets are becoming increasingly popular among businesses as well. In 2022, 66% of businesses offered digital wallet payments.

13. Apple Pay is the most popular digital wallet in the United States, with a market share of 36%.

14. Google Pay is the second most popular digital wallet in the United States, with a market share of 20%.

15. Apple Pay is accepted at over 85% of the merchants in the United States while Google Pay is accepted at over 65% of the merchants.

16. Apple Pay has over 500 million active users worldwide while Google Pay has over 1 billion active users worldwide.

17. The Indian digital wallet market is expected to reach INR472.6 trillion ($5.7 trillion) by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 23.9% from 2023 to 2027.

18. The value of mobile wallet payments in India was INR128.2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) in 2022.

19. Mobile Wallets Market in India is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.9% between 2023 and 2027 and reach ₹472.6 trillion ($5.7 trillion) in 2027.

20. The most popular mobile wallet in India is Paytm, with a market share of 35% followed by Mobikwik, Freecharge, and Amazon Pay.

21. In 2022, the total value of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) transactions in India was INR125.95 trillion ($1.6 trillion) and accounted for 86% of India’s GDP in FY22.

22. The number of UPI users in India has grown from 140 million in 2017 to 590 million, while the number of UPI transactions in India has grown from 1.2 billion in 2017 to 83.75 billion in 2023.

23. The top 3 reasons why people use UPI are: convenience (92%), security (88%), and low transaction fees (85%).

24. The most common use cases for UPI are person-to-person (P2P) payments (60%), merchant payments (30%), and utility bill payments (10%).

25. For consumers using digital wallet apps, 69% of respondents stated they used PayPal the most, making it the most popular option.

26. According to a recent study, the next most popular mobile wallet payment options (after PayPal) are Google Pay (56%), Apple Pay (53%) and Samsung Pay (52%).

27. Users primarily access digital wallets via smartphones (68%) and smartwatches (41%).

28. Most respondents (64%) said they use digital wallets at least as much as traditional payment methods, indicating that digital wallets are becoming a preferred payment method for many consumers.

29. An overwhelming 72% of respondents stated they’d consider using digital wallets as their primary payment method for shopping.

30. 58% of respondents stated they would consider using a digital wallet for travel.

31. Trends indicate digital wallets are most frequently used for purchases from businesses in the following categories: Drugstores and pharmacies (53%), Department stores (50%), Online retailers (50%), Events (49%), Restaurants and bars (47%).

32. 41% of Gen Zers stated they always lose track of how much they spend when using a digital wallet.

33. By comparison, Gen Xers (54%) and millennials (46%) responded that they sometimes lose track of how much they spend.

34. The global mobile payments market is expected to reach $4.6 trillion by 2026.

35. Mobile wallets are already by far the preferred payment method in the Asia-Pacific region, where they are projected to make up 47.9% of POS transactions in 2024.

36. The United States is one of the largest markets for mobile payments, along with China & India.

37. In the United States, mobile payments are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4% from 2021 to 2026.

38. In China, the most popular mobile wallets are Alipay and WeChat Pay.

39. Mobile wallets are increasingly being used for in-store payments, online payments, and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments.

40. Cash App has over 73 million active users and processed over $1.7 trillion in total payment volume in 2022 sending an average of $330 per month.

41. PayPal is the most popular digital wallet in the United States, with over 426 million active users.

42. PayPal is accepted at over 30 million merchants worldwide and processed over 450 billion payments in 2022 with a total payment volume (TPV) was $376.54 billion in Q2 2023.

43. Venmo has over 80 million active users that processed over $1.2 trillion in total payment volume in 2022 sending an average of $370 per month.

44. The global peer-to-peer payment market size was valued at $1.8 trillion in 2021 and is projected to reach $9 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.7% from 2022 to 2030.

45. The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing market for peer-to-peer payments, with a CAGR of 23.2% from 2022 to 2030.

46. In 2022, Zelle processed 2.3 billion payments with a total value of $629 billion and an average transacted value of $300/month per user.

47. For Zelle, this represents a 59% increase in payment value and a 49% increase in transaction volume from 2021.

48. Zelle has over 1,800 participating banks and credit unions, covering about 80% of all U.S. bank accounts.

49. In 2022, Shop Pay processed over $25 billion in payments with an average transaction value of $70.

50. Samsung Pay has over 50 million active users worldwide and is accepted by 30 million merchants.

Sources: Forbes, Stratista, Money Transfers, Business of Apps, Capital One Shopping, Juniper Research, Techsci Research, LiveMint, Fintech for Health, Fortunly, fitsmallbusiness, CNBC, Financial Holdings