Who will be the wallet winner.

• Author: Moland, Kevin

Despite all of the recent hype about Apple Pay, it's still unclear which payments solution is going to dominate digital commerce. But that doesn't mean that banks should wait passively on the sidelines under the victor is confirmed. Here are the multiple strategies that banks need to embrace during this uncertain time.

AS CONSUMERS INCREASINGLY TURN TO MOBILE CHANNELS TO MANAGE THEIR LIVES, technology providers respond by developing new tools that align with their on-the-go, always-on lifestyles. They have come to expect the same level of innovation in every area of their lives. In financial services, mobile banking has proven to be a game changer. Offering the right mobile banking technology is increasingly becoming table stakes for attracting and retaining customers.

As mobile banking solutions have matured, robust capabilities have become commonplace. As a result, customers expect to be able to use their bank's mobile app to manage their accounts, analyze their finances, deposit checks and engage with their bank.

These same expectations apply to digital commerce--the ability to use mobile devices to conduct research, identify the best deal, and consummate the shopping experience by paying with a smart device at the physical or virtual point of sale. Despite a crowded field of more than 200 mobile wallets, the promise of digital commerce has largely gone unfulfilled (with the notable exceptions of Starbucks and PayPal). Every January, industry experts declare that this year will be the tipping point for digital commerce. Every December, the same experts analyze the reasons for that year's disappointing results. Even so, 2015 might finally be the year when digital commerce takes off.

What's different about this year? There are a couple of factors contributing to this tipping point.

First, although more than one-third of millennial are expected to use a mobile wallet in 2015 according to FICO, digital commerce is no longer the sole domain of young tech-savvy customers. Mainstream consumers are embracing mobile commerce. Buyers between the ages of 35 and 44 are 23 percent of the digital shopper population, even though they account for only 18 percent of the general population. Baby boomers and seniors are getting in the act, too: One in every four mobile shoppers in the United States is over the age of 55. The expanding appeal of digital commerce supports Forrester's forecast that mobile payments will triple to $142 billion by 2019, up from $52 billion in 2014.

Secondly, the launch of Apple Pay has been an undeniable inflection point. Apple Pay has reinvigorated the digital commerce landscape in a way that sets the stage for heightened interest on the part of consumers and merchants alike. Launched in October 2014, Apple Pay is now officially available at more than 220,000 locations, with industry experts' unofficial estimates ranging as high as 652,000 North American purchasing points.

Off to a good start

Despite the fact that Apple Pay is in its beginning stages, early results are promising. In late January, Apple disclosed that "750 banks and credit unions have signed on to bring Apple Pay to their customers, and, in just three months after launch, Apple Pay makes up more than $2 out of $3 spent on purchases...