Digital wallets, for the uninitiated, are typically software-based online services that enable people to carry out electronic transactions with other people and businesses — some of the most popular wallets today include PayPal, Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Venmo and Cash App. But digital wallets have gradually morphed beyond payments and are emerging as potential replacements for everything you might keep in your physical wallet — Apple, for example, now lets drivers store their license in digital form on their iPhones.
The advent of crypto is also opening up fresh use cases for digital wallets, though different blockchains are generally incompatible. And the metaverse too — whenever that becomes a real thing — will rely heavily on interoperability and open standards, so participants can make payments and ID themselves across virtual worlds.
And it’s against this backdrop that the OWF is seeking to make its mark, with the backing of a slew of organizations spanning all manner of industries and interest groups.