What is a mobile wallet?

What is a mobile wallet?

Terms like wallet and mobile wallet are still missing consistent definitions, especially across industries. The fundamental definitions of mobile wallets, however, have provided a foundation for defining the concept.

A mobile wallet is the digital equivalent to the physical wallet we already have in our pockets today. It is a container (or vault) to store digitized valuables for authorization. These valuables grant permission for usage or access to goods, services or places. They can be:

• A personal identification like an ID or social security card, driving license, health card, payments card, loyalty card, website access or login data, and so forth
• Non-personal means of authentication like tickets for public transport or events, car and hotel keys, gift cards and coupons..

How do mobile wallets work?

The digitized valuables stored in a mobile wallet can be represented in many different forms. They might taken the form of a number, like on a credit card or a password, a digital certificate, a QR code, an image of the owner or something else. These representations are linked to the owner’s sensitive personal information, which means that mobile wallets provide valuable access but also require protection.

Because of the storage of sensitive personal information, strong security is a major issue for mobile wallets. Therefore security features are important for a mobile wallet vault. Requirements for security may vary depending on the wallet’s content, since, for example, a loyalty card is certainly not as valuable as a personal ID or a car key.