The latest in the mobile wallet craze: Wells Fargo Pay joins the (already long) pipeline of mobile wallets. But Wells bets that its massive mobile banking userbase will drive wallet adoption.
Wells Fargo Pay will launch later this summer, the bank said this morning, and will be integrated into its existing mobile app, enabling NFC transactions. Wells Fargo Pay will first be available to Android users. The app integration allows customers to view their account balance information immediately before or after transaction, the bank said. The wallet will also be compatible with NFC-enabled ATMs to allow for cardless transactions, as the bank expects more than 40% of Wells Fargo’s ATMs will be NFC-enabled by yearend.
Mobile banking overall has been on the rise at Wells, a spokeswoman told Bank Innovation.
We don’t currently provide detail around how many of our customers have used mobile wallets, but we’ve surpassed 17 million active mobile customers, and seen increased transaction growth as people use mobile devices to interact with Wells Fargo 20 or more times per month. Our customers love mobile banking, and it’s become the primary way in which millions of them interact with us daily. We believe that the steady increase of NFC-enabled payment terminals, in addition to the proliferation of NFC-enabled ATMs, will drive customer adoption of mobile wallets.
The key to that adoption is changing customer habits, Ryan Marquis, chief executive of Plastc Inc. told Bank Innovation. “There is too much infrastructure around using physical cards, like gas stations, or certain ATM machines, so we have a long way to go before cards are completely eliminated,” he said.
Despite the slow adoption on the consumer side, mobile wallets have gained popularity at least in the issuer/retailer space. Recent additions include Walmart Pay, Chase Pay, and (probably) LG Pay.