We thought it was a fad, but digital wallets are becoming the starting point of the shopping journey.
As Authorize.net enables Apple Pay and Google Pay for new merchants, it signals a broader shift: payments are moving upstream, closer to where purchase decisions begin.
Consumers expect to tap, not type. And increasingly, they expect to do it everywhere.
One in five digital wallet users now regularly leave home without a physical wallet, relying entirely on their phone or wearable to pay.
That’s not a Gen Z trend anymore. It’s a behaviour shift.
For businesses, this creates a very real gap between demand and readiness. If a customer reaches for their watch or phone and can’t pay instantly, that moment doesn’t convert. It disappears.
Every missed tap is a missed sale.
At the same time, digital payments are no longer just about enabling transactions. They’re becoming a key part of how consumers discover, decide, and buy. Research shows that shoppers are increasingly beginning their buying journey in digital payment ecosystems themselves, not just finishing it there.
That changes the role of payments entirely.
As a payment solutions provider, we see this as more than a feature rollout. It’s a strategic shift.
The opportunity isn’t just to accept more payment types. It’s to meet customers earlier, reduce friction across every touchpoint, and ensure your payment experience aligns with how people actually want to buy.
Digital wallets are no longer optional infrastructure. They’re a growth lever.
If your payments strategy hasn’t evolved yet, now is the time.
If missed taps are missed sales, it’s worth asking: is your payments infrastructure keeping up?
Let’s review your current setup and identify opportunities to capture more conversions and optimize costs.