New research has found that more than 60% of the global population will be digital wallet users in 2026.

The substantial number of people using the technology will exceed 5.2 billion as digitisation accelerates the cashless transition.

A new study from Juniper Research has found that the projected number of digital wallet users is up from the 3.4 billion recorded in 2022; representing strong growth of over 53%.

Juniper Research predicted that the presence of ‘superapps’ will drive digital wallet use in developing countries that are currently considered ‘cash heavy’.

Superapps are multipurpose apps able to integrate digital payments alongside other services, including wealth management and eCommerce.

The study identified three countries in Asia Pacific primed for rapid growth over the next four years; the Philippines; Thailand and Vietnam.

It predicts that the adoption of digital wallets will near 75% of the population in each of these countries by 2026. It cited the rising access to online and mobile commerce services as driving forces behind the use of digital wallets, notably through superapps.

Commenting on the research, co-author Damla Sat explained: “These rapidly growing markets represent a significant opportunity for digital wallet vendors, but they must work intelligently to maximise their position.

“A highly competitive wallets’ landscape means that vendors must differentiate themselves by integrating machine learning to provide spending insights and introduce new services such as wealth management to add value.”

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Additionally, the research identified QR code payments as the most popular digital wallet transaction type in 2026; reaching 380 billion transactions globally, and accounting for over 40% of all transactions by volume.

However, as usage within markets including China and India reaches its apex, vendors must innovate to remain competitive entering new geographic markets. Juniper’s data recommends that QR code payment vendors integrate loyalty features and personalised marketing capabilities to incentivise merchant acceptance, which will be critical to driving adoption.

The global fintech market in general is already seeing increased growth, with an incredibly strong second quarter in 2021 alone, according to KPMG research.

KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report showed that global investments in the first half of 2021 reached $98 billion (£70 billion) across 2,456 deals – an increase on the $87bn invested over the same period of 2020.

This uptake has been driven by the pandemic and the increase in online shopping, with PayPal last year commenting that the pandemic had led to a 24% spike in total active customer accounts.

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