Scrolling Instagram the other day, I saw someone proudly show off four wallets—each in a different colour. And I paused. Not to admire them, but to wonder: why?
In a world where boarding passes live in apps and credit cards live in our phones, the wallet feels… unnecessary. With digital payments, contactless checkouts, and everything from ID to loyalty cards stored in our devices, how many of us still need to carry one?
Some people resist the shift—out of habit, preference, or comfort. But for the rest of us, the question lingers: Are wallets still useful? Or are they just relics of a physical past in an increasingly digital present?
A Brief History of What We Carry
Wallets have been around for centuries—first as pouches for coins or even food, later evolving to hold paper currency and cards. What started as pure function slowly became something more: a marker of taste, status, and style. Leather. Zippers. Monograms. Identity.
By the mid-20th century, the rise of the credit card made wallets essential. They weren’t just money holders anymore—they became organizers for everything: ID, receipts, loyalty cards, and other daily essentials.
But now, as those essentials move into the cloud, the very thing that once kept us organized is starting to feel… a little outdated.
The Rise of Digital Wallets
Apple Wallet. Google Wallet. Tap to pay. Scan your boarding pass. Show your loyalty card at checkout. All without ever pulling out a wallet. For most people, that level of convenience is hard to beat.
We’re no longer fumbling with cards or digging through bags. We’re scanning, tapping, and swiping with a single device—something we already carry everywhere. Even things like concert tickets, hotel keys, and vaccine records live on your phone now.
And if you lose your phone? You can lock it remotely. Wipe it. Track it. Unlike a traditional wallet, there’s a built-in safety net. Tools like 1Password take it even further—securely storing IDs, credit cards, and travel details so you can fill out forms without pulling anything out of your bag or pocket. (I’ve used it for boarding passes more times than I can count.)
Compared to the panic of losing a physical wallet—and all the cancellations, replacements, and “what now” moments that follow—a digital one just makes more sense.
So… Why Are We Still Making Cards?
If digital wallets are so convenient, why are plastic cards still everywhere?
Part of it comes down to habit—and infrastructure. Not every place has fully caught up. Some small businesses, rural areas, and even certain industries still rely on physical payment systems. And for many people, having a tangible card feels like a safety net, just in case the tech fails.
But in a world becoming more conscious of waste, printing billions of plastic cards each year feels increasingly out of step. A digital wallet reduces the need for single-use materials and streamlines what we carry. It’s hard not to question the point of holding onto all that plastic—especially when many of us are already living without it.
Let’s Be Honest: Wallets Can Be a Pain
They bulk up your pockets, gather receipts you’ll never look at again, and hold loyalty cards you forgot you had. And that’s if you even remember which card is in which slot.
For women, it often means digging through a purse just to dig through a wallet—twice the effort for something that could’ve been one tap on a screen.
Digital wallets skip the clutter. Everything’s right there—clean, secure, easy to access. At some point, a wallet stopped being practical and started feeling more like a habit. Or worse—a hassle.
Luxury Wallets: More Status Than Storage?
Luxury brands still sell wallets at high-ticket prices—crafted from fine leather, stitched to perfection, and often displayed more than used. But functionally? A digital wallet can do far more, for far less.
Most of us carry just a few cards now, yet many minimalist wallets barely hold that without a struggle. It’s a strange contradiction: wallets keep getting smaller just as our need for them disappears. And that disconnect says a lot about how far we’ve moved from function.
At this point, a luxury wallet feels less like something you need, and more like something you show off.
Where Wallets Go from Here
The shift to contactless payments, digital IDs, and app-based everything points to one thing: wallets may soon be more relic than requirement. As more of what we carry becomes digital, the practical case for a physical wallet gets harder to make.
That influencer’s post? It was less about need and more about aesthetic—four wallets, four colors, and likely, four reasons to post. Today, investing in a wallet often has little to do with function. It’s about the look, the label, and the feed.
Maybe we don’t carry them because we need to—maybe we carry them because we still like the idea of needing to.
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