After sitting on the sidelines the last few years, the digital wallet is finally gaining traction with consumers. According to mobilepaymentstoday.com, a new Juniper Research study projects that the number of mobile wallets using contactless technology will reach 200 million by the end of 2016, representing growth of more than 100 percent since the end of 2014. Consider also a new Wristly survey of Apple Watch owners that found that 80 percent of respondents in the U.S. and U.K. have already used Apple Pay.

So while current reports of U.S. digital wallet adoption remain lackluster, a sneak peek into the future reveals a different paradigm.

“Right now, having a digital wallet on your phone does not mean you can give up carrying plastic cards,” said Amy MacMullen, senior product manager for CO-OP Financial Services. “You still have to find a merchant equipped with near field communication (NFC) technology in order to use a digital wallet in-store, and many merchants just aren’t there yet. But, we expect that dynamic to change soon.”

According to MacMullen, October 1, 2015, remains a pivotal date in the payment industry, and not just because it is a deadline set by payments networks for EMV-compliance in the U.S. – a transition discussed in CO-OP’s EMV Common AID white paper.