Not many are comfortable using electronic wallets. What many do not know is that e-wallets are safer than debit and credit cards. How?

The biggest advantage in using a wallet is safety. You can load wallets whenever you want - even just before a transaction - with even the exact amount you are going to spend. This is a big advantage unlike credit or debit cards, where you have to be extra careful as they can have big balances or a huge credit limit.

Many online - even brick and mortar stores - accept wallets. If you are shopping online, while making the payment, you have to select the Wallets option, select the wallet you want to use and give your wallet credentials. You will get a One Time Password (OTP) in the mobile. Once you key in the OTP, the payment goes through.

While using it in physical stores, there are several ways in which wallets operate. For instance, if you are making a payment through JioMoney in a Reliance outlet, you have to input the billed amount following which a barcode is displayed in the mobile, which the cashier has to just scan for the payment. You don’t have to hand over your mobile to the cashier and avoid the risk of skimmers that can steal card data.

In the case of Mobikwik, once you tell the cashier your registered MobiKwik phone number, he enters the amount in the machine. You will get a OTP with the amount and share your OTP to complete transaction.

In the case of Zeta, you get a code in the mobile and you have to show it to the cashier. And the transaction gets done.

When you opt for auto-loading option, you have to mention the minimum amount you want the wallet to maintain and the card account it has to access to get it funded. For instance, it you set the minimum amount to ₹500 and the balance in the wallet goes down to ₹456, it will get recharged automatically by ₹44, so that the balance is ₹500. You can always add more money separately if you wish. With wallets, you can also send or receive money in an instance.

What if you are not comfortable using your mobile in shops, but want to use an e-wallet?For such people, there are physical debit cards that are linked to your wallet. ICICI Bank’s Pockets card, Udio and Zeta (in tie up with RBL Bank) act just like physical cards. As the card is linked to your wallet (which has just the amount you have loaded), even if you lose the card or if it is skimmed, you don’t lose much.

All these Many cards, except FreeCharge’s Go Card, come with a virtual version too. Once you open the e-wallet, t gives the an option to display the virtual card.