Microsoft Wallet: not as late in the game as you think
It’s still unclear when or if Microsoft will finally roll out a Surface Phone. What matters is the approach that Microsoft is taking towards mobile, in reference to areas of the Windows 10 Mobile experience where Microsoft has not been as responsive as it should have.
One such area in particular has been mobile wallets, where Alphabet Inc’s Google Wallet was initially the front runner, sadly way too early in the game, followed by Apple Pay, which now owns the lion’s share of mobile payments at physical checkouts. Finally, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay have made a few headlines, although the numbers are still a little hard to read.
As it turns out, Microsoft Wallet is tiptoeing its way towards consumers, by using a smart approach that allows Microsoft’s brand new digital wallet app to interface with hardware that already exists at retail, as well as with its own proprietary hardware solution.
According to Microsoft Wallet’s official page, the app works in the same way as other digital payment solutions. Microsoft Wallet is capable of storing credit card information, and setting up a default payment method. At checkout, consumers will simply tap their phone on any payment terminal that features the Contactless logo, for the default payment method to be selected and a charge to go through. Also, just like its competitors, Microsoft Wallet features the ability to switch the default card on the fly, and even select gift cards and rewards cards.
Yes, it is yet another mobile payment app: but that’s not the point.
Mobile payment apps have been a novelty for while, but they are now starting to become as necessary as any other utility service available on smartphones. Microsoft has been holding on releasing a mobile wallet for a while, but eventually it had to happen, especially if the company is really about to release a flagship smartphone that truly ties in with the Surface ecosystem, along with the Surface Pro and Surface Book.
If we were to take it one step further and guess what’s next, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to bet on Microsoft taking a page from Apple, by enabling mobile payments to work on the web too, however Microsoft might find itself in a unique position, as long as it is able to develop a way for Microsoft Wallet to work across all browsers, not just Microsoft Edge. Cross-browser support would provide Microsoft with the leverage it needs to be competitive as a mobile platform, in spite of its small footprint, compared to Android and iOS.