Over 3 in 4 like using digital wallets for ID verification, access control

More than 70 percent of consumers in Brazil, France, Germany, the UK and the U.S. are using a digital wallet – and many of those consumers could be drawn to digital IDs within the next three years, according to research from Pymnts Intelligence.

Over 29 percent of global users say they would likely use their digital wallet for verifying identity or age in the next three years. Another 26 percent said they would use wallets for storing and accessing identity documents, according to the digital payments research firm.

The most tempting aspects of using digital IDs within wallets are security and low cost while familiarity is the key to engaging new users.

“Making the value proposition clear to skeptics, who say they have no plans to use digital wallets at all, much less for identity verification or access, is critical to making digital wallets catch on fully as a daily must-have for consumers around the globe,” the research notes.

Part of the reason for optimism that skeptics can be won over is the high approval rating of digital wallets for digital ID verification or access control use cases. Three quarters of government-issued digital wallet app users report being “very or extremely satisfied” with them, and the approval rates are even higher for digital wallets issued by Apple (79 percent), Google (81 percent) and Samsung (84 percent).

Young people are leading the way in the use of digital wallets for ID verification and access control, with 11 percent using digital access credentials in the past year, compared to 8 percent of consumers overall.

Geographical variance

The Pymnts Intelligence reports, published throughout June, July and August, also detail consumer attitudes from the five countries. The consumer survey, conducted in January and February, collected responses from almost 12,300 consumers.

Consumers in Brazil, for instance, value digital credentials because of the lower risk of losing ID documents (22.6 percent). Germans, on the other hand, appreciate the convenience and widespread use of digital verification through wallets.

Nearly one-third of U.S. consumers expect to use a digital wallet to verify their identity in the next three years. The most common reasons for verifying ID are banking transactions, buying alcohol or tobacco and travel. Regulations, however, differ from state to state and just around a dozen of them offer digital credentials such as mobile driving licenses (mDL), the report notes.

In France, only 9.8 percent of consumers use digital wallets for identity verification to access a place or a service. Despite the low figure, it is the second-most popular application after travel when it comes to non-transactional use of digital wallets. Digital wallets are more widely used for online payments in the country, however, with 38 percent using them.

France and other EU countries are expecting digital wallets to be widely adopted for identity and age verification with the introduction of national wallets under the EUDIW scheme, which is in the early testing stage.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  identity verification