Banks attempt to compete with PayPal and Apple by launching an online banking wallet.
Key Details
- Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and four other banks are teaming up to launch an online wallet that customers can connect to their debit and credit cards.
- The virtual wallet will be managed by Early Warning Services and is planned to be released later this year.
- Banks are worried about losing customers as virtual wallets such as Apple Pay and PayPal continue to rise in popularity. According to the latest Apple Pay statistics, the number of U.S. Apple Pay users is set to hit 48.7 million this year.
Why it’s news
Virtual wallets such as Apple Pay have been rising in popularity as it allows customers to have all cards in their virtual wallet and pay in stores and online with their phone.
Apple Pay has millions of users across the U.S., with expectations of reaching 48.7 million this year.
Worried about losing customers to their virtual counterparts Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and four other banks have teamed up to launch a new online wallet.
The virtual wallet has yet to be named but is in the works to be launched later this year.
Despite wanting to compete with Apple and other virtual wallets, the banks are also aiming to cut back on fraud. Customers using virtual wallets would no longer have to continuously type in card information, limiting access to customers’ card numbers.
The virtual wallet will be managed by Early Warning Services and is planned to launch with Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, with plans of adding others in the future.
When the virtual wallet is ready, it will be offered to U.S. customers who are up-to-date on payments, have used their card online before, and have an email and phone number provided.
