Breadth vs depth: What’s next for the future of digital wallets?

As digital wallets evolve, the real opportunity isn’t in doing everything—it’s in doing what matters, exceptionally well, for today’s users.

By 2030, digital wallets are expected to account for 65% of global e-commerce transaction value and 45% of global point-of-sale transaction value. But this isn’t just a trend, it’s a fundamental reimagining of how people and businesses interact with money. Payments are no longer passive but are becoming embedded, intelligent, and indispensable. As digital wallets evolve, the industry faces a defining question: Should we go wider or deeper?

In other words: do we need wallets that can do everything, or ones that excel at what truly matters?

This tension between scale and focus, convenience and craftsmanship, is shaping the next generation of financial platforms. While the allure of super apps remains strong in certain regions, the real opportunity lies in strategic integration, not maximalist ambition.

What do we mean by a digital wallet?

Despite its widespread use, “digital wallet” remains a surprisingly fluid. At its core, a digital wallet is a platform that securely stores and manages payment instruments such as cards, bank accounts, and digital currencies while enabling fast, frictionless financial transactions across channels.

But today’s wallets go far beyond basic payments. The most advanced platforms now integrate identity verification, loyalty programmes, budgeting tools, and business financial services, blurring the line between wallet, bank, and operational finance hub.

This expansion is exactly why the breadth vs. depth conversation matters. The more a wallet can do, the more important it is to ask what it should do and how we design for trust, scale, and utility in tandem.

The UK landscape: Adoption at an inflexion point

The UK is now entering a critical phase in its digital wallet journey, with digital wallets expected to account for half of all e-commerce spending and nearly one-third of point-of-sale transaction value by 2027, according to a Worldpay report. Although digital wallets were introduced in the late 1990s, Worldpay notes that their widespread adoption accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, making services like Apple Pay and Google Pay the preferred payment methods for many Brits.

A quarter of UK adults used a digital wallet in 2022, up from just 14% in 2017, an inflexion that reflects changing expectations and maturing digital behaviours.

Two diverging models

As digital wallets mature, we see two dominant approaches:

1. The super app play: Convenience through scale: In Asia-Pacific, adoption has led global platforms like Alipay and Paytm to bundle payments with e-commerce, transportation, messaging, insurance, and more. Their success lies in seamless daily experiences. But complexity, regulatory scrutiny, and UX bloat become growing liabilities as these ecosystems expand. This model has limited appeal in the UK, where one-third of adults now use mobile contactless payments monthly, but users remain sensitive to trust, data usage, and app overload. They want control, not clutter.

2. The specialist model: Depth as differentiator: On the other end, there are platforms that focus on solving specific financial challenges, such as cross-border payments, SME expense control, and budget management, and doing so with precision. UK consumers are increasingly gravitating toward digital wallets that offer frictionless functionality and clear, targeted utility. For example, 30% of UK online shoppers now use Apple Pay. In comparison, 53% rely on PayPal, just behind traditional plastic cards at checkout, reflecting a strong preference for seamless digital payment experiences. Additionally, UK consumers are increasingly looking beyond payments: 44% plan to use digital wallets for payments, 27% say they will use their digital wallet for identity verification and non-payment use cases, a number that rises among younger demographics.

However, going deep without adjacent value can risk user attrition. Depth alone doesn’t retain users unless it evolves into a broader, integrated platform.

The real future? Strategic integration

The future isn’t about breadth or depth but building modular, scalable, and intent-designed platforms.

We don’t need super apps. We need super-experience wallets that feel purposeful, trustworthy, and frictionless.

This means:

• Prioritising real utility over shiny features.
• Designing for UK-specific user behaviours and regulatory expectations.
• Scaling functionality without overwhelming the user.

Final word: Focus is the new scale

There’s a temptation in fintech to chase breadth-adding features, markets, and products in the name of growth. However, the winners in the UK’s next digital payments chapter will be those who scale with precision.

As we redefine a digital wallet, the goal isn’t to do everything. It’s to do what matters exceptionally well, intuitively, and securely.