A digital wallet has both a software and information component. Secure and fair electronic payment systems are an important issue. The software provides security and encryption for the personal information and for the actual transaction. Typically, digital wallets are stored on the client side and are easily self-maintained and fully compatible with most
e-commerce websites. A server-side digital wallet, also known as a thin wallet, is one that an organization creates for and about its members and maintains on its
servers. Server-side digital wallets are gaining popularity among major retailers due to the security, efficiency, and added utility it provides to the end-user, which increases their satisfaction of their overall purchase. The information component is basically a database of user-input information. This information consists of a user's shipping address, billing address, payment methods (including credit card numbers, expiry dates, and security numbers), and other information. Digital wallets are composed of both digital wallet devices and digital wallet systems. There are dedicated digital wallet devices such as the biometric wallet by
Dunhill, a physical device that holds cash and cards along with a
Bluetooth mobile connection. Presently there are further explorations for smartphones with NFC digital wallet capabilities, such as smartphones utilizing
Google's
Android and
Apple's
iOS operating systems to power wallets such as
Google Wallet and
Apple Pay. Digital wallet systems enable the widespread use of digital wallet transactions among various retail vendors in the form of
mobile payments systems and digital wallet applications. The
M-PESA mobile payments system and
microfinancing service has widespread use in
Kenya and
Tanzania, while the
MasterCard PayPass application has been adopted by a number of vendors in the U.S. and worldwide. Digital wallets are being used more frequently among Asian countries as well. One in every five consumers in Asia are now using a digital wallet, representing a twofold increase from two years ago. A
MasterCard mobile shopping survey among 8500 adults, aged 18–64 across 14 markets, showed that 45% of users in China, 36.7% of users in India and 23.3% of users in Singapore are the biggest adopters of digital wallets. The survey was conducted between October and December 2015. Further analysis showed that 48.5% of consumers in these regions made purchases using smartphones. Indian consumers are leading the way with 76.4% using a smartphone to make a purchase, which is a drastic increase of 29.3% from the previous year. This has inspired companies like Reliance and Amazon India to come out with their own digital wallet.
Flipkart has already introduced its own digital wallet. A 2025 systematic review found that digital wallet and mobile payment technologies play a significant role in expanding financial inclusion by lowering access barriers and improving the availability of financial services for underserved populations. ==Security==