Digital wallet adoption accelerated rapidly as consumers embraced contactless payments for everyday purchases. In Australia, Commonwealth Bank of Australia data shows mobile wallets gaining significant ground on traditional contactless cards, with consumers increasingly using services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and CBA tap-and-pay. The shift suggests that smartphones are becoming an increasingly important part of the in-store payment experience as consumers grow more comfortable with both the convenience and security of mobile payments.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) shared information on the use of contactless payments in this Finextra article. From 2020 to 2021 the use of contactless wallets through universal apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay and CBA tap-and-pay increased 90%.
In the midst of the global pandemic, this is not entirely surprising, but what is perhaps a little more interesting is the data showing that mobile contactless is catching up with the use of contactless cards.
Here are the details:
As of March 2021, more than 40% of the bank’s combined debit and credit card contactless transaction count was via a digital wallet.
CBA’s executive general manager for everyday banking, Kate Crous, says: “We know customers continue to value the ease and security of digital wallets and over the last year we have seen Covid play a part in accelerating the trend. As more customers use digital wallets, they are also using more features in the CommBank app to monitor and manage their spending.”
The bank’s figures also revealed that many Australians have started making higher value purchases via their digital wallets with the average dollar value of a digital wallet transaction increasing from $41 to $44 (credit) and $26 to $29 (debit) over the past 12 months.
“People mostly use digital wallets to pay for everyday expenses such as public transport, groceries, food and beverage, retail shopping and petrol. As customers are becoming more comfortable with paying this way, we have seen the average amount being spent using digital wallets continue to rise, both for credit and debit purchases on average, over the year.”
Based on the current trends, Crous believes that it is likely that digital wallets will be the most popular contactless way to pay by the end of the year.
The rapid growth of digital wallet adoption in Australia demonstrates how quickly established payment behaviors can change when consumers are given a convenient alternative. Although the pandemic accelerated demand for contactless transactions, the increasing frequency and value of mobile wallet purchases suggest that the shift could extend well beyond the immediate circumstances that initially fueled it.
Consumers are also using digital wallets for a broad range of routine expenses, from groceries and public transportation to fuel and retail purchases. As familiarity grows, mobile wallets could increasingly replace physical contactless cards rather than simply complement them.
For banks, issuers, and payment providers, this evolution creates opportunities to make mobile wallets part of a broader digital banking relationship. Integrating payments with tools that help consumers monitor transactions and manage spending can add value beyond the checkout experience and give customers more reasons to engage with their financial institution’s mobile app.
If current trends continue, digital wallet adoption could fundamentally change how consumers think about contactless payments. Instead of reaching for a physical card, consumers may increasingly default to the smartphones and devices they already carry. Australia’s experience provides an early indication of how that transition could unfold in other mature contactless markets as mobile payments become more familiar and widely accepted.
