EU Digital Wallets Want to Be More Than a Way to Pay

EU digital wallets are looking to be more than just payment apps.

According to Markus Kilb, CEO at Swiss mobile wallet provider TWINT, the next frontier in digital wallet use needs to move beyond payments to enhancing the value proposition with a range of features aimed at making consumers’ everyday lives easier.

Adopted by all of the major Swiss banks, TWINT’s technology acts as an umbrella brand for the various bank-owned apps that Swiss consumers can use for mobile payments, and in recent years has added various features besides payment functionality to improve its value proposition.

“TWINT is not just about payments, but it's also about things around payments, or what we call, ‘beyond payments,’” Kilb told PYMNTS in an interview.

For example, he explained how TWINT enables users to purchase parking without ever having to leave the car, or order a range of goods and services and access special offers from the TWINT marketplace.

Consumers can also compare mobile network and internet subscription plans on the platform, a “relevant” feature that he said their clients can benefit from.

As a founding member of the European Mobile Payments Association (EMPSA), the Swiss digital wallet provider is also pinning its hope on the achievement of full interoperability between the continent's various mobile wallets to drive business growth.

Learn more: EU Digital Wallets Take On Global Card Networks, Strive for Interoperability

As Kilb said, “It's very common for people living in Switzerland to go to Milan for the weekend to [shop and] I would love to have my clients go there and pay with TWINT.”

Mobile Wallets in the Connected Economy

Another area where payments can be improved is by better connecting data across transactions, Kilb noted, pointing to TWINT’s ability to sync transaction data with loyalty schemes, saving users from having to separately tap or swipe their loyalty card or app to collect points.

Partnering with other players in the payment ecosystem is also key, he added, referencing a deal with Swiss supermarket Migros to develop self-service mini-supermarkets.

“TWINT will be used there as a means of accessing the supermarket, and in the next phase, we will be looking at what type of legitimization TWINT can provide to the supermarket in terms of purchasing goods that are age-restricted,” Kilb explained.

But despite expanding its offering with other services in the pipeline, he refrained from the industry buzzword — super app — and instead outlined the company's vision to be “your daily companion for everyday life.”

Painting a picture of a hypothetical future, he described a situation in which a couple planning a movie outing could browse through their local cinema offerings, purchase and receive the tickets directly from the TWINT app, and even automatically create an entry in both of their digital calendars.

And it doesn’t end there. The TWINT app could also offer food recommendations nearby the movie theater and provide the option to reserve a table at a restaurant which will already have their payment details on file even before they arrive.

As Kilb said, “In the end, [our goal is to] try and make people's life a bit easier, more comfortable and safer in tiny little steps, day by day.”

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