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E-wallet App Development: A Beginner’s Guide

E-wallet App Development: A Beginner’s Guide

Learn how to develop a secure e-wallet app with our step-by-step guide. Essential for tech executives and entrepreneurs.
Fintech
July 10, 2024
Md. Rabiul Alam Sarker

Rabiul Alam brings a blend of manual and automation expertise to the world of software testing. With a deep understanding of the entire testing life-cycle for dynamic web and mobile applications. His experience spans popular testing frameworks like Selenium, TestNG, and Appium. Additionally, he possesses hands-on knowledge of DevOps tools like Docker, ELK stack, and CI/CD pipelines.

Md. Asad Chowdhury Dipu

Are you thinking about developing a mobile wallet app? Recently, fintech solutions such as e-wallet apps have become very popular. Apps such as Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal have changed how we manage money. Creating an e-wallet app can be challenging due to the related complexities, competitive market, and compliance laws to follow.

However, this blog on “How to develop an e-wallet” will break down the process and make it easy to understand. Whether you are a tech executive, serial entrepreneur, startup founder, or just curious about e-wallet app development, this guide will be extremely helpful. Let’s jump right in!

What is an eWallet App?

Before learning how to make an e-wallet app, you need to know what this app is. An e-wallet app is a digital tool that lets users store, manage, and use their payment info to make transactions on their phones. This type of app turns a phone into a digital wallet, enabling users to safely keep their bank account info, debit or credit card details, and other payment options.

With an e-wallet app, users can send money, make payments, and handle their financial transactions without carrying cards or cash. Furthermore, these apps often include extra features like budgeting tools, loyalty programs, and coupons to improve the user experience.

Creating e-wallet apps is very popular today because about 48.53% of people worldwide have smartphones. People aged from 15 to 45 are the biggest users of these apps. Bank information and account details stored in these apps are encrypted, making them safe and secure.

Users can also set up biometrics or passwords to add extra protection. Compared to using cards, digital wallet apps are more convenient and efficient. They allow for fast and secure money transfers.

Overview of the eWallet App Market

Technology has paved the way for a bright future for e-wallets, allowing startups to profit significantly from their apps. The number of users of e-wallet apps has increased a lot, and their willingness to adapt to this change is impressive. This is evident from the market growth and statistics of the e-wallet apps.

A study by Allied Market Research shows that the global e-wallet market size was at $1.04 trillion in 2020. It is expected to grow to $7.58 trillion by 2027, with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 28.2%. According to Juniper Research, digital wallet users were 3.4 billion in 2022 and are projected to grow to 5.2 billion worldwide by 2026, marking a 53% increase.

Another study found that by 2030, the mobile payment market in the US will exceed $607.9 billion. Although mobile wallets are a niche in the broader digital payment industry, they are experiencing rapid growth. According to Market Research Future, the e-wallet market was valued at $103.2 billion in 2023.

Market Research Future also found that the digital wallet market size is expected to grow from $124.6 billion in 2024 to $590.2 billion in 2032, with a CAGR of 23.40%. Furthermore, Juniper Research predicts that by 2028, digital wallets will handle transactions worth $16 trillion. This estimate is based on industrial data.

What Are The Important Features of An E-wallet App?

Simple Registration Process

The streamlined registration process enables users to swiftly create a profile and begin using the e-wallet app. By simply entering their basic information — name, email, contact number, and password — users save time and effort, avoiding repetitive data submissions.

Wallet Balance

The application offers users real-time updates on their wallet balance and transaction history.

Transaction Authorization

The application offers users essential transaction details, including amount, recipient information, security PIN, and biometric authorization, streamlining payment processes on the platform.

Transaction Processing

The application ensures secure transaction processing by verifying user wallet balances, validating transaction details, and confirming transactions for both senders and receivers.

Transaction Confirdevices 

After a successful transaction, the app confirms the transaction from both parties and records essential details such as transaction ID, timestamp, date, amount, and any other necessary information.

Transaction Types

The eWallet supports a variety of transactions, including bill payments, merchant payments, peer-to-peer transfers, and both online and offline purchases.

Quick Payments

Calling your digital payment application a “wallet” doesn’t make sense if users can’t make payments immediately because of technical problems like server errors. So, your e-wallet app needs to be available at all times to ensure users can access their money right away.

Instant payment features are crucial for achieving a cashless society. In addition, integrating a payment gateway is a crucial factor for ensuring secure and smooth transactions. This integration allows for smooth and easy transfers of money from the user’s e-wallet account to the merchant’s account.

Virtual Card Management

The virtual card management feature simplifies the payment process for users. It allows them to create virtual cards with unique card details like expiration dates, CVVs, and card numbers for added security. Furthermore, users can set deactivate mode and spending limits and see their transaction history to make the process easier.

Easy to Use Interface

A user-friendly layout ensures that users can easily navigate the app, making a great first impression. A well-designed interface leads to smooth and enjoyable transactions, enhancing the overall user experience of the eWallet app.

QR Code Scanner

Using a QR code scanner makes accepting money and making payments simple. This is a crucial feature of e-wallet apps. This feature helps merchants and consumers complete transactions easily and quickly without entering lots of information. QR code scanners are efficient, safe, and reliable. Therefore, adding this functionality to your e-wallet app would be very useful.

eCommerce Integration

Adding e-commerce features to your e-wallet app allows you to collaborate with other brands. It also allows you to promote their services and products on your app. Offering various deals and discounts can create a strong revenue stream. You can earn commissions from each service and product sale made through your e-wallet app.

Security Features

The security of an e-wallet app is important. Strong security features such as biometric verification, two-factor authentication, and end-to-end encryption protect user transactions and data. These security measures build trust with users.

What Are The Types of eWallet Apps?

Closed E-Wallets

Do you know about Walmart Pay? It’s a mobile wallet app that allows you to make purchases exclusively within the Walmart app. While these companies have been around for a while, the mobile wallet feature was added later on. These wallets are limited to use within a specific app and can’t be used for other online payments.

This type of e-wallet app is ideal for e-commerce platforms and brand retail stores. Investing in this type of e-wallet app is beneficial because it can significantly boost the brand’s customer loyalty, reputation, and reliability. It can also lead to increased revenue generation.

Semi-Closed E-Wallets

Taking a step beyond closed e-wallets, we encounter semi-closed e-wallets. These apps offer users greater flexibility compared to closed e-wallet apps. Here, users enjoy the advantage of using these wallets to pay at stores that have partnered with the digital wallet company. However, these payment options might only be accessible at specific outlets, not all.

Because of this, they’re often called semi-closed or half-closed e-wallet apps. This type of wallet presents an excellent business venture opportunity for tech companies, fintech companies, eCommerce firms, and financial institutions. It’s particularly attractive for startups and entrepreneurs looking for new business ventures.

Open e-Wallets

These types of e-wallets are popular because they work on both Android and iOS phones, provided they’re compatible with all networks. They are easy to use and can handle countless transactions. Open e-wallets provide many great features in addition to the usual functions.

They can send money, handle ATM withdrawals, manage bank accounts, and more. Apps such as Paytm and Google Pay are popular examples of open e-wallets. Thinking about investing in open wallets? If you like to establish a fintech company and aim to produce billions in revenue, this is a great idea.

Mobile Banking Applications

These mobile apps help manage bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, and other financial products. A well-known example of a mobile banking application is the Bank of America app. In the future, every bank and financial institution will likely develop a mobile banking application to keep up with the growing fintech industry. If you are in this field, you should pursue this opportunity.

Crypto Wallet

These digital wallets let users trade, buy, sell, and transfer various cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. A crypto wallet falls in the middle of blockchain apps and fintech apps. If your company deals with cryptocurrency, consider creating a crypto wallet.

This can significantly boost your digital currency’s presence in the market, similar to how Ethereum succeeded. In this case, you may need to know how to create an e-wallet for cryptocurrency.

Super Apps

If you know about super apps, then you will understand what we mean. It’s like having an all-in-one mobile wallet. With these apps, users can make NFC mobile payments, do banking tasks, get cash advances, and more. N26 is a popular example of the Super Apps.

No particular businesses should pursue this. Super app development involves creating platforms that cater to multiple niche companies offering similar services. These apps bring together various functionalities into one platform, providing users with exceptional value and convenience.

How To Develop An E-Wallet App: Step By Step Guide

Developing an e-wallet app is a creative and technical journey. To help you understand the development process before you start, let’s dive into each step in more detail. Below, we will explore how to create an e-wallet app.

Step 1: Planning Stage

In the first step, you need to identify your target audience and select a platform that they are likely to use. For instance, if you know that your audience will mostly use iPhones with 4G data connectivity, then an iPhone digital wallet app would be ideal.

After that, create a strategy that explains how the customers will navigate through the various levels of the e-wallet app. Provide clear instructions on where they should click and what will happen when they click on particular screens.

For instance, if they click to add a card, show them three digital wallet options: Walmart MoneyCard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Each option should lead to a different screen with guidelines on how to add that specific card. Creating this strategy will ensure a consistent experience throughout the whole app and across all pages.

Step 2: Analyze Competitors

Research the market thoroughly to see what e-wallet apps already exist. Look at the popular features of these apps and find any gaps. Analyzing your competitors will help you discover ways to make your e-wallet app unique from others in the crowded market.

Step 3: Make A Feature List

Depending on the findings of your research, create a detailed features list for your e-wallet app. Include important features in your app, such as transaction tracking and account management. Also, consider adding distinctive features that could make your app stand out from others, like investment options or loyalty programs. Prioritize these features depending on your customers’ needs and development feasibility, and make a roadmap for developing your e-wallet app.

Step 4: App UI UX Design Stage

In the UI UX design phase, your app gets its visual identity. It is vital to have an interface that is smooth and easy to use to keep users interested. Your app needs to look attractive, be simple to use, and be easy to access. Make sure transactions happen fast and are straightforward, simplifying complex financial steps into a user-friendly journey.

When designing, you need to choose navigation elements, fonts, colors, and other layout elements. Now, you can start wireframing the UI design by sketching rough drafts of each screen and outlining interactions between them to identify potential issues before coding later in the procedure.

Ensure the design team understands all functionalities and development costs of your e-wallet app. They’ll collaborate closely with content creators, mobile developers, graphic designers, QA analysts, and UX experts to ensure everything functions as intended.

Step 5: Select The Correct Technology

Choosing the correct technology stack is crucial for your e-wallet app’s scalability and performance. Think about things such as which platform to create the app for, frameworks to use, and programming languages. Your selected technology needs to handle your app’s features well, ensure security, and enable future updates.

Step 6: APIs And The Backend Development

APIs link your application to other services, such as payment networks and banks, allowing different financial transactions to happen within your e-wallet app. The backend is where every data processing takes place, so it must be secure and strong. Design it to manage data, user accounts, and transactions securely.

Step 7: Improve Security

Security is crucial for financial apps. Use strong safety measures such as multi-factor authentication and encryption to safeguard users’ sensitive information. Regularly audit security and comply with legal standards to maintain trust.

Step 8: Add Payment Gateways

Smooth payments are important for every e-wallet app. Add trustworthy payment gateways so users can securely connect their credit cards, bank accounts, and other payment methods. Make sure the payment procedure is easy and can handle multiple currencies if necessary.

Step 9: Testing the Developed E-wallet App

Before launching, thoroughly test your e-wallet app to find and fix any bugs. It plays an important role in your e-wallet app development process because it ensures everything functions correctly. This step includes security testing, user testing, and performance testing. Quality assurance is a continuous procedure that ensures a good user experience.

Step 10: Launch, Maintain, And Enhance The App

The launching phase involves deploying your e-wallet app so users can access it live. Once the app is live, you’ll get a dashboard to monitor the e-wallet app’s success. Monitor its performance, collect user reviews, and quickly solve any problems. Your digital wallet app should grow with your users, adopt new technologies, and keep improving to stay relevant.

What Are The Common E-wallet App Payment Technologies?

When creating an e-wallet, it’s important to choose the right digital wallet type for your needs. Besides the payment method, the features you include in your e-wallet app will also impact its overall development.

Payment Through Fund Transfer

It’s the best mode of payment if your digital wallet app is designed exclusively for business needs. Your company can partner with local merchants and other companies to transfer funds rapidly. With a customized e-wallet app, large transfers are safe and fast, ensuring that no third party gets involved.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

Near-field communication technology is one of the best technologies for transferring money and sharing information easily. It’s a contactless chip-enabled payment method. With this technology, you don’t need to touch another device; you just have to be close enough for the receiver’s pay pad to read your device.

iBeacon

This payment method aids you in finding your every nearby friend for making payments. iBeacon technology makes all e-transactions extremely secure and quicker. This technology is still developing and is widely used by current users.

Blockchain

Today, the top choice for online payments is using an E-wallet built on blockchain technology. Its high security and unchangeable nature make it highly favored. This has led to a boost in demand for companies specializing in blockchain development. Financial and government institutions prefer using these mobile apps because they often deal with significant expenses.

QR Codes

QR codes have become an incredibly popular technology. You can easily use them to exchange money or information with people you regularly interact with, whether they’re friends, colleagues, or part of your social circle. This makes the transaction process fast and easy.

Conclusion

Creating an e-wallet app demands a substantial investment of expertise, time, and resources. However, it can become an invaluable tool for both consumers and businesses. Following the steps discussed in this article can help businesses quicken the app development procedure and release a top-quality e-wallet app that fulfills their target audience’s needs. We hope this blog on “How to develop an e-wallet” has provided useful insights.