by Naomi Anderson, Vice President, Prepaid

More than 20% of U.S. retail purchases are expected to take place digitally by 2026 according to Insider Intelligence. This reflects consumers’ rapidly increasing comfort with digital payment methods. Some of the most popular rising stars within the digital universe include mobile, virtual cards, and cryptocurrency, and yet, the versatility of prepaid cards is helping this traditional payment method rocket to meet them.

Mobile wallets

Mobile wallet purchases have been growing for years and are expected to keep increasing steadily. Insider Intelligence is predicting the yearly addition of 6.5 million new mobile wallet users through 2025, mostly consisting of Gen Z and Millennials. Convenience and the ability to shop safely online are top prepaid card features important to Millennials (Softjourn). Tokenized prepaid cards fit both these criteria as they offer extra security protection and are easily added to mobile wallets for convenient use while making both online and in-person purchases.

Virtual cards

Quick and easy to buy and load, virtual cards fit increasingly digital-focused lifestyles by providing a simple way for shoppers to budget online shopping. Virtual prepaid cards also work well to promote and sell where members engage online, including on social media where 21% of consumers now directly make their purchases (Softjourn).

Purchasing cryptocurrency

Prepaid cards are a versatile payment method for all kinds of purchases in the real and digital worlds. One of the newest players on the payments field is cryptocurrency; yet, even in this space, the prepaid card is finding its use as a way to purchase some forms of cryptocurrency. Like everywhere else, prepaid cards offer people a more secure way to purchase cryptocurrency while easily managing their budgets.

As the payments realm changes with dizzying speed, prepaid cards remain a true constant. That could be why the prepaid market continues to expand with an expected compound annual growth rate of nearly 10% by 2026 (The Business Research Company). Mobile wallets and tokenization have helped prepaid cards transition into the futuristic world of digital commerce where the budgeting and security benefits of these cards continue to bring peace of mind and hold real value for members.

At Envisant, our prepaid program offers a forward-thinking digital strategy and a team of experts ready to support you every step of the way. To learn how we can help you offer an easy-to-manage prepaid program, please reach out to the Envisant sales department at 1-800-942-7124.

(Originally published on CUInsight)