More Mobile Wallets Among Affluent Consumers

High-earning consumers are much more likely to have mobile wallets than they were just a few years ago.

A January 2017 survey from Ipsos of more than 850 US adult internet users with household incomes of $100,000 or higher found that the percentage of those who have a mobile wallet app has more than doubled since December 2013. Approximately 45% of respondents now have a mobile wallet app installed on their smartphone or tablet, up from 22% in 2013.

Of course, there is a difference between having a wallet app and actually using it, particularly now that wallet apps come preinstalled on many phones. But the survey found widespread use among consumers who had a wallet: 86% said they used it.

Of those who do use mobile wallet apps, more than half (55%) used PayPal. Apple Pay was also popular, used by nearly 30% of respondents who use a mobile wallet app.

One reason mobile wallets appeal to this group of consumers may be because a significant portion of them do not carry cash. Ipsos found that one in four US affluents carry cash “sometimes,” while 22% “rarely” or “never” have cash on them.

eMarketer estimates US proximity mobile payment transactions will total $62.49 billion in 2017, up 125.8% from $27.67 billion in 2016. By 2020, transaction value is predicted to reach $314.13 billion