In Asia and Europe, in particular, eWallets have long been a key part of the online and, increasingly, the in-person purchasing experience. Offering a convenient portal that protects all of the user’s details and just sends the cash as needed, eWallets come with a great many benefits that have clearly landed well around the world.

New Zealand, however, hasn’t taken so swiftly to eWallets – even with Auckland being home to a rather excellent digital wallet. In March 2022, Dosh had recently raised $5 million seed funding to launch its Kiwi-facing eWallet. Citing their experiences in Singapore, the two creators of Dosh said that they wanted to bring a similar payment solution back home with them.

Even with Dosh and its sizeable user base, the faster and more convenient payment method as a whole is still somewhat niche in New Zealand. Given the benefits and increased trends of shopping behaviour, though, digital payment methods might soon grow into a major player in the market.

Online trends would suggest an eWallet pickup is coming

Source: Unsplash

Online shopping and accessing the internet for premium entertainment are very popular in New Zealand. There are plenty of platforms in each industry vying for Kiwi customers, helping to make it competitive and user-friendly. With every possible facet toyed with to create an edge, it won’t come as a surprise that having fast payment options for money going in and coming out has become a selling point.

Already, this can be seen as a battle being waged in New Zealand’s online casino industry. The number one site for them has a specific page dedicated to the sites with the fastest payout methods. In this guide, eWallets are unequivocally ranked as the best with near-instant delivery times, while bank transfers take two to five days, and even electronic bank transfers take over a day.

Other benefits of eWallets being realised are their convenience for speedy checkouts and instant detail filling as well as their additional security measures. From 2020 to 2022, online transactions completed on mobiles in New Zealand saw a bump from 39 per cent to 58 per cent, and given that smartphones aren’t the most trusted devices for security, eWallet use can bridge that gap and make convenient shopping even more convenient.

Current state of play for payments in New Zealand

Source: Pixabay

As of 2022, eWallets and digital wallet solutions made up a mere ten per cent of payment methods at points of sale in New Zealand, putting the method far behind debit cards (35 per cent) and credit cards (44 per cent). It did mark the first year that eWallets climbed ahead of cash, though, giving eWallets a bit of momentum while still trailing the big two by a huge margin.

This likely goes hand-in-hand with the added exposure that comes through eCommerce. Local retailers have, by far, been the most used retailers for purchases in New Zealand. In 2021, 77 per cent of customers made their purchases at local stores, and those with an online presence made up 72 per cent of all online spending. As many online retailers offer a way to pay via an eWallet, this may account for the increase.

Still, overall, eWallets remain a growing but niche way to pay in New Zealand. Perhaps over the next few years, they’ll grow further, but that may depend on a big push from a local brand like Dosh to help normalise the payment method.