Top 10 Mobile Wallet Solution Providers

Identifying the winners in the mobile wallet industry in 2019

In the next few years, strong growth in the Asian mobile wallet industry is expected to be replicated in the US, as consumers come to appreciate the full scope of financial capabilities that mobile wallets have to offer them.

US retailers like Walmart, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts have experienced good uptake in their company-branded wallets, while Apple, Samsung and Google are still waiting in the wings for customers to start using their original equipment manufacturer (OEM) wallets at scale.

A 2019 Global Insights Inc forecasts that the global mobile wallet industry will exceed $250 billion by 2024. It estimates that in the Asia Pacific the industry will expand to $140bn by 2024 and that in the US the mobile wallet market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17% until 2025.

Mobile wallets are powerful applications because they are cost-effective and readily available whenever users need them. They are also well-suited to respond to the ever-evolving needs of consumers, with their modular design enabling the issuer of the mobile wallet to add and subtract services based on customer usage and uptake.

In a report published by Ovum, the consulting firm predicted that the next major phase of development in the mobile wallet industry would be the growth of white-label mobile wallets. It found that globally a third of issuers had prioritised investment in mobile wallet platforms.

The reason is that few banks are in a position to develop mobile wallets from scratch, says Ovum, and adds: “White label mobile wallet providers can help them.” The technology enables companies to offer their clients or employees access to a wide array of financial applications. Functionality can include payments, loyalty programmes, international remissions, employee benefits, financial guidance and monthly salary deposit.

The wallets are also increasingly device-agnostic, with developers focusing on providing companies with comprehensive integration and full customisation capabilities.

With the increased demand, the mobile wallet market is becoming extremely competitive, with many players eager to get in on the action. However, it will be the providers that manage to get the balance right that stand out from the crowd; those that offer robust and secure solutions, while remaining innovative and responsive to customer needs.

10 leading white label wallet providers

We identified 10 white label wallet providers that we believe best reflect what the industry has to offer. These are:

Seamless Distribution Systems

Seamless Distribution Systems is a market leader in the Nordic countries, with a wide range of finance and consulting solutions. Listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier Index, the company has 50 years’ experience and operates across 50 countries. It develops, delivers and manages software transactional systems. Seamless has built up a valuable market expertise by focusing on doing business with established companies. It has not yet incorporated AI or Blockchain into its solutions.

Dwolla

Founded in 2008, Dwolla offers mobile payments and mobile wallet integration services. Its stated aim is to help customers move money easily, fast and affordably. Dwolla’s solutions support automatic clearing house (ACH) network payments and it offers customers white label bank transfers. The company has focused on the US market and has built a customer base that spreads across many different industries outside the financial sector. This has given it valuable, broad-based, non-financial mobile wallet experience.

Auka

Since 2010, Oslo-based Auka has been offering customers a standardised and easy-to-use mobile payment platform called Settle. It was the first company to launch a mobile payments solution (mCash) in Norway. The company focuses on providing exceptional user and customer experiences and thus its key success factor is its ability to build customer-centric products.

Softspace

Malaysian fintech player, Softspace, has developed a sound reputation in Asia for its payments platform and Fasspay wallet. The company, founded in 2012, has impressive experience, with 20 financial institutions in 11 countries using its solution. The company does most of its business in Asia and deals primarily with enterprise customers.

Openway

Openway was established in 1995 in Belgium, which remains its head office. It has since expanded to 17 offices around the world. The company developed the Way4 card, wallet and payment solution. It has significant experience, expertise and a good reputation. Its large team services the 130-plus banks that are its customers. In 2016, it was recognised by Ovum for the quality of its digital wallet software.

iCard

iCard was founded in 2007 and has always had a fintech product focus. It offers a digital wallet for money transfers, payments, and e-gift and loyalty cards. It is a consumer-focused business, but also offers corporate options. It doesn’t offer customised or white label solutions.

Cellum

Cellum was founded in Hungary in 2000 and has since moved its headquarters to Singapore. It offers white label mobile wallet solutions to the banking, commerce, telecom and transportation industries. It is PCI-Certified and has built strong partnerships and a solid reputation since inception. It embarked on a major international expansion in 2011 and now has subsidiaries in Europe, US and Asia.

Wallet Factory

Wallet Factory has 15 years of expertise in the financial and payments industry. It offers payment, banking, loyalty and microfinance solutions. It is seen as the Swiss Knife of the mobile wallet industry for its ability to deliver fully customised solutions. It doesn’t use AI or Blockchain in its solutions but its key success factors are its ability to deliver fully custom solutions and its impressive industry partnerships and success stories.

Obopay

Obopay was established in 2005 and offers digital payments and banking platforms, including mobile wallets. Its mobile wallet comes with a card, P2P payments, loyalty schemes, membership cards, and international remittance and savings. It is a huge enterprise linked to a proprietary banking platform.

Mangopay

Luxembourg-based Mangopay, which was acquired by Crédit Mutuel Arkéa in 2015, offers a range of mobile wallet services, including C2C and B2B payments, white-label solutions and plugins. Customers can use the escrow wallets to send money worldwide. It offers integrations and software development kits for the most popular technologies available. It places most of its focus on its marketplace and crowdfunding platforms and hasn’t incorporated AI and Blockchain into its offering. The company is agile and has a broad product offering.

How to choose a white-label wallet vendor

When choosing a white label vendor, there are certain criteria that are important to consider because the long-term success of your mobile wallet will be determined by the vendors ability to deliver to your evolving needs. Critical considerations include:

Microservices architecture. Even if the starting point is the same for all clients, every company will develop at its own pace and will adapt the wallet over time to meet its customer needs. By developing a branded mobile wallet solution using microservices, companies are able to easily adapt and scale the technology over time for increased usage or a growing number of users without having to change the underlying architecture of the wallet. Customization. The vendor should be able to customize the solution to your exact specifications. Many technology providers sell wallets “as is” or provide APIs so that companies can plug in additional functionality. But this is not ideal because it does not offer the end-customer a wallet that has been carefully designed for them. Capacity. The vendor should be able to easily scale its development resources up and down when needed so the customer does not need to hire a huge team of dedicated developers. Technical support. The vendor should offer a flat monthly fee for hosting and technical support so that the client can focus on its business, knowing that the wallet is being supported by the developer and will function effectively. Integrations. The vendor should have the experience and capability to handle all types of integrations with the clients’ systems. The vendor should also be equipped to test and train users so that they are comfortable using the wallet and are in a position to make full use of all the functionality it offers. Preferably, the white-label mobile wallet provider should have a local presence to oversee the integration of the software.

As you can see there is a lot to consider when deciding which provider to contract within the development of your branded, customized mobile wallet. However, it is well worth doing your homework properly at the beginning of the process because this will set you up for long-term success with your employees or end-customers.