When I started using Apple Wallet to pay for items from my iPhone and Apple Watch, it became a game-changer. Why hadn’t I been doing this all along? Recently, I walked to the grocery store, grabbed what I needed, and realized I left my debit card at home. It didn’t matter because I had the digital version stored in my phone.

Digital wallets can hold much more than just payment cards, too, from digital entry passes to loyalty cards, boarding passes, and vaccine cards, all of which I use. In the U.S., they can also handle things like money transfers and store digital driver’s licenses.

Digital wallets continue to evolve. Juniper Research predicted last year that by 2026, the number of digital wallet users would exceed 5.2 billion globally, up from 3.4 billion in 2022, representing 53% growth.

This year, there are plenty new features coming to not only Apple Wallet, but many other popular digital wallet platforms as well.

Google Wallet

Google Wallet is available on many Android phones that support NFC, and the app recently received several updates. Notable among these is the ability to digitize images on passes, like gym memberships, library cards, transit QR tickets, parking passes, and more. You can also save virtual versions of health insurance cards and other “private” passes through fingerprint or PIN verification before adding them. That’s currently only available in the U.S. through Humana and the U.K. with HMRC, but it’s a step in the right direction. And Google says more partners will be added soon.

Residents in Maryland (and soon Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia as well) can now also save a driver’s license to Google Wallet on any Android phone running 8.0 or later, and present this at TSA PreCheck lines in select airports, and while booking a car with Turo or verifying online accounts (the latter two features coming later this year).

Additionally, travelers can add boarding passes to Google Wallet directly through the Google Messages app, first launching through Vietnam Airlines with additional airline support coming soon. Google is working with Spain train operator Renfe as well. The TagMe service can be used by restaurants as well to send reservation details that can be saved to the Wallet. Corporate badges support is coming later this year.

While Google Wallet is available in Canada with standard digital wallet features, there’s hope that some of these new features might make their way north of the border soon, too.

Samsung Wallet

Available  in Canada, Samsung Wallet has joined the digital wallet space with its own app, which you can use on compatible Samsung Galaxy devices. In this wallet, you can store digital payment cards, digital keys, boarding passes, ID cards, and more, all in a single, secure space that’s protected by Samsung Knox defense-grade security.

Samsung sets itself apart through integration with SmartThings and partnerships with popular home security companies. With this, you can add digital keys to unlock doors right from your phone, and even start the engine of compatible cars. This currently includes select BMW, Genesis, and Hyundai models.

Wise

Wise has been growing in popularity as an online service for accepting payments from international customers. The service provides banking information for the country in which you want to receive payments, including a mailing address, routing number, bank code, and account number that you can provide to a client to receive payments. Once received, you can keep the money in that account and pay through a physical Wise card or transfer the funds to your own bank account.

I have been using Wise for years to accept payments from clients in the U.S., which I then transfer to my Canadian bank U.S. dollar account. It works flawlessly, with minimal fees. I recently ordered a Wise card and will be using it for an upcoming trip. Introduced in November 2021, the Wise card, which you can order for free online, allows you to spend in both U.S. dollars and foreign currencies without paying the hefty foreign transaction fees nor unfavourable bank exchange rates.

Wise’s newest feature for Canadians is Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit, which allows customers to activate a Canadian Wise balance and receive money via Interac. This is ideal for transferring money between friends and family for a shared vacation or gift, for example. All you need is a Wise account for a Canadian balance, select Receive with Interac, register your e-mail, complete the registration, and your account will be registered with Wise banking partner, Peoples Trust Company. When someone sends money to the registered Interac e-mail address, it will be deposited into your Wise account within 20 minutes, including on weekends and bank holidays.

Apple Wallet

At WWDC 2023 earlier this year, the Apple Vision Pro, slick new Macs, and upcoming iOS 17 updates got all the attention. But exciting new features for Apple Wallet were announced as well. All part of iOS 17, Apple Wallet will soon include Apple Maps support, the ability to receive receipts for transactions, and the ability to add an order to Wallet from an e-mail attachment. There will also be a new Track with Apple Wallet button on participating apps and websites. If you order something online and pay using Apple Pay, for example, you’ll be able to track the delivery or specific pick-up area. Receipts, meanwhile, can be attached as a PDF or image file so you have a digital record of payment. Keep them all in the same place versus individual e-mails. If it’s something you might return or a receipt for a high-ticket item you want to keep for warranty purposes, for example, you can tap and add it to the Wallet.

Apple also recently added the ability to store a driver’s license or ID in Wallet at participating businesses and venues (this feature isn’t in Canada yet), which would verify your identity and age when doing things like renting a car or purchasing alcohol. Students can also store compatible student IDs. I already use Apple Wallet as well for theme park passes, loyalty cards for Aeroplan, Air Miles, and Indigo Plum Plus, Cineplex Scene, boarding passes, and more.

With participating vehicles and in participating countries, you can also store digital car keys in Apple Wallet as well as compatible hotel and even home keys The great thing about Apple Wallet is the app is accessible from the Apple Watch as well, so you can pay for items right from your wrist, whether it’s a subway or train ticket, purchases at the grocery store, or smoothie at the gym while your phone and wallet are in the locker or back at home. If you set up payment cards in Apple Wallet, you can easily pay for items using Apple Pay, where available.

Finally, there’s also Apple Cash (in the U.S.) which makes it easy to transfer money from one person to another using iPhones, iPads, or Apple Watches. New this year with iOS 17 will be the ability to set up recurring transfers, which are handy for things like paying roommates for your share of the rent or kids a monthly allowance.

Bottom Line

Digital wallets can provide greater peace-of-mind than physical cards. You don’t have to worry about losing a physical card or having someone skim the number from you. Payment data is encrypted and, with most (if not all) devices, content is locked without facial or biometric fingerprint recognition. This means that even if someone gets a hold of your phone, they won’t be able to use your digital wallet.

With services like Wise, going digital can help you save money and reduce fees compared to what you’d pay at a standard bank.

“Cash is king,” as they say. I never leave my home (if I have my wallet or a fanny pack with me) without cash in addition to my digital cards. While more and more places in Canada have gone digital-only, like Rogers Centre and Canada’s Wonderland, there’s still value in having cold, hard bills just in case. But for the sake of convenience and security, digital wallets take the cake. Since I have been using a digital wallet through both my smartphone and smartwatch, I can’t remember how I lived without it.

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