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We’re living through a golden age of fintech, with digital companies carving large chunks off traditional finance and being the main route for people looking to make online payments. While some companies like Apple Pay and PayPal are usually the first companies people think of, dozens of challenger companies are looking to crash the party, and a number of them are championing innovation to become significant players in the global finance sector.
Any company aiming for such a high benchmark is pitting itself against some of the most innovative digital finance solutions ever conceived. MuchBetter is one such company that has found success in this field. While it might not have the same sort of customer base or capital behind it as some of the more prominent names in the industry, it’s quietly building in the background and pushing its services into new territories.
What is MuchBetter?
MuchBetter is a company looking to capitalise on the current digital e-wallet boom. The London-based fintech company emerged in 2017 and has since amassed over one million users on its app. The company aims to pioneer wearable devices such as wristbands to allow people to use them on the go. However, its app works like a traditional e-wallet design; simply deposit your funds from your account or bank and link your MuchBetter account to your chosen merchant.
E-wallets are used in hundreds of online industries, but their first notable success was in the casino gaming industry at the beginning of this century. The number of customers who use MuchBetter for online gaming has risen steadily since the late 2010s, and for those e-wallet providers who can siphon off even a tiny percentage of the multi-billion pound online casino industry, the potential reward that lies in wait is enormous.
Despite their security, casinos are a consistent and popular target for cybercriminals due to the sheer number of transactions they facilitate and the amount of data they hold on their servers. Services like MuchBetter introduce another layer of security into this equation, and if the site is compromised, there’s no identifiable financial data that will result in a financial loss.
Reasons behind people switching to MuchBetter
Hundreds of e-wallet companies have emerged over the last few years, so it’s an intriguing question. Why would consumers opt for MuchBetter over companies established in digital finance for 20+ years, such as PayPal?
Well, it’s a combination of factors, really. One of the main reasons is that people opt for e-wallets or digital financial services that friends or family recommend. Others may have had a bad experience with one of the more prominent names and are opting for a company that is just finding its feet in the industry.
MuchBetter benefits from being a new name in the sector – it doesn’t have to deal with some of the harsher headlines that PayPal and Apple have faced in the past, and it’s joining the industry as a vibrant new name looking to make its mark.
Pros of e-wallet payments over traditional payments
Aside from the convenience of having a tap-and-go facility on our mobile phones, e-wallets are generally considered the more secure alternative of the two. Ultimately, it boils down to having a unique ID or using your email or phone as the payment device.
Suppose you have to manually enter your card details whenever you make a purchase or a deposit on an online gaming site – in that case, it’s more time-consuming than using an e-wallet, and it also means that your card data is stored on a server.
Saving time is the driving force behind so many societal changes; it’s why Amazon rose to prominence and why online casino games continue taking customers away from land-based providers. Even looking beyond payment methods, the internet has become the go-to place for us to obtain news updates or information about our favourite celebs.
In an age where less is more, being able to do all of our daily activities via our mobile phones is the zenith of convenience. We no longer need to carry physical wallets with an array of bank cards in them. If we lose our phone, nobody can access the financial data on it unless they can bypass biometric ID or 2FA – which is incredibly unlikely.
The main battle that digital financial services had to overcome revolved around security and mass adoption. However, with Gen Z almost exclusively opting for digital payment systems, and performing their day-to-day banking and transactions via their mobile phones and laptops, there’s a steady rise in providers such as MuchBetter becoming the main option for online gaming.
As the competition heats up in this rapidly growing area of finance, expect to see more companies try to snatch a piece of the action for themselves. MuchBetter is in a competitive niche, and the next few years will be crucial for it. If it can continue growing its number of users toward five or even 10 million over the next decade, it will undoubtedly find itself in the conversation next to the likes of Apple Pay and PayPal.