E-wallets set to become the preferred payment method in the US

The report is optimistic that within the next five years, e-wallets will overtake credit cards as the leading payment option in the country. 

Worldpay’s 2017 Global Payments Report analysed 36 countries across the world to review the current state of the payments industry and to predict future trends on a global and domestic scale. The findings show the global ecommerce market is expected to grow 11% over the next five years. E-wallets are predicted to become 45.9% of the market by 2021. 

The time of the emergent markets 

China, the US and the UK continue to be the dominant ecommerce players in 2017, but their growth has somewhat slowed down compared to previous years. Despite being a top market, North America has one of the slowest growth rates at 10%. 

In comparison, Latin America is the fastest growing ecommerce region, growing at a CAGR rate of 19%, followed closely by Asia-Pacific at 12%t, and EMEA at 10%. Argentina is also set to have a boom in ecommerce:  expected to grow at an annual rate of 24% for the next five years, surpassing Brazil and Mexico by 7 and 17%, respectively.  

These findings highlight the important role emergent markets will play in the global ecommerce market. As established markets enter a slow phase growth, the potential for an ecommerce boom can be found in lower-developed regions. 

The rise of the alternative payment methods

Worldpay’s annual report found that alternative payment methods are gaining more ground in the e-commerce market. E-wallet payments (39.2%), bank transfers (11.6%), prepaid cards (0.2%) and e-invoices (0.1%) are all expected to increase in use across the world. 

In the United States, e-wallets, such as PayPal, are the second most used payment method by Americans and are set to become the top payment option with a 46% usage rate by 2021, followed by credit cards, bank transfers, deferred credit cards and debit cards. Samsung Pay and Android Pay, are gaining more acceptance and earning consumers’ confidence as their popularity and usage increases.