when you hold your phone over a point of sale to make a purchase you re using your digital wallet to conduct the transaction 
because cryptocurrency has become a part of the financial system companies like coinbase offer cards that let you pay with cryptocurrency coinbase s card is issued by visa digital wallets like apple pay allow you to add a crypto debit card the card converts cryptocurrency to dollars at the current market value which your wallet then uses to pay for your purchase 3types of digital walletsthere are several digital wallets available here are some of the most well known most wallets attempt to distinguish themselves from their competitors with different methods for example google s digital wallet service allows you to add funds to the wallet on your phone or device apple on the other hand entered into a strategic partnership with goldman sachs to issue apple credit cards and expand its apple pay services 4most makers of digital wallets place age restrictions on young users for example if you re not yet 18 you can t open your own apple pay account however apple does offer apple cash family where children or teens as part of a family can send or receive money with messages and wallet and make purchases with apple pay parents would need to create and authorize this from their own accounts 56cash app segregates the types of services available to those 18 and younger for example if you are below 18 you can pay someone else or receive funds up to 1 000 every 30 days in peer to peer transactions borrowing check deposits cross border payments and phone support are available only to those 18 and older 7pros and cons of digital walletslimits exposure of financial and personal informationends carrying a physical wallet and cardscan improve access to financial services in underserved areaspayment method may not be accepted everywheremay not work if bluetooth or wifi isn t available or your device isn t chargedcan be vulnerable to identity theft or fraud if your mobile device is stolen while unprotected or hackeddigital wallets don t require a bank account at a bank with a physical branch instead you can place your funds in an online only bank which gives unbanked and underbanked communities access to financial services enabling broader financial inclusion security might become an issue if you use a digital wallet from a provider that hasn t been vetted or doesn t have an established reputation if your phone isn t password protected you risk giving someone else access to your finances if you lose your phone additionally there might be local businesses you prefer to shop at that don t yet have a point of sale that accepts this technology 