FIS puts digital wallets odds on favourite for global betting dominance

Global financial technology provider FIS released a report that predicts digital wallets will develop into the main preferred payment method for online gaming activities globally by 2022.

The Global Gaming Payments Report has been formed using merchant business data from its recently acquired payment processing company Worldpay.

Overall in 2018, 35% of online gaming payments were made through digital wallets, indicating the impact of smartphones on payment methods – with players yearning for real-time payments whilst also wanting mobility whilst betting. 

“The increasing draw of mobile gaming has made instant access to winnings essential for a complete player experience,” said Steffan Jones, VP commercial development, gaming and trading, FIS. 

“Quick payouts have now become a reality via FastAccess funding enabled by Visa Direct. This year is sure to see further rollout of this service across Europe and adoption across the online gaming community.”

Digital wallets provides a multitude of positives for users including: tailored UX, additional layers of security (encryption, tokenization) and device authentication to help reduce fraud.

The report touches upon the imminent strong customer authentication (SCA) regulation and how adoption of digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, will boost as they satisfy SCA regulatory requirements.

FIS predicts improvements to digital wallets will lead to the use of card-based deposits will fall by almost 10% across Europe by 2022 

“The upcoming implementation of SCA should also be a key priority for the gaming industry,” continued Jones.

“With operators needing to be mindful that they are approving or declining the right payments at all times in a PSD2-compliant way without hampering the player experience. 

“Digital wallets, especially those that include an additional layer of biometric authentication such facial recognition or fingerprint, could be an alternative for players and we expect to see increased take up of these payment methods within online gaming as a result.”