Epic Games has been slow at updating the Epic Games Store with requested features. The competitor to Steam may have launched thin on features, but Epic Games has been transparent about its work behind the scenes. The company's Trello page shows lists of features that have recently launched, what's coming next, and other features planned for the future. Following a recent Epic Games Store update, a new feature has climbed to the top of what's next. That being a new wallet feature for storing cash.
Officially, the Epic Games Wallet will allow Epic Games Store users a way to "load money" into their accounts. In other words, users will be able to stop using a direct payment to their credit card or PayPal for every single purchase. They'll instead be able to pre-load cash into their wallet, like when a user has the spare cash handy, and then save it for a sale or game launch when they won't be sure if they'll have the money handy.
Implementing the Epic Games Wallet is also just the first step toward implementing other key features into the Epic Games Store. The big ones being cash cards and gifting cash to other users. Cash cards are used often in many countries and would allow users to deposit cash with a card, rather than holding onto it for extended periods of time even if it just has change on it. On the other subject, the Epic Games Store doesn't currently have a gifting system or gift cards. It may never get gift cards, either, due to the overhead involved with selling them through third-party retailers. However, if each Epic Games Store account had a wallet, users could gift cash directly to other users with no third-party or gift card involved.
Alone, however, a wallet system doesn't provide much benefit to users. It does, however, significantly benefit Epic Games. That's because wallet cash is still money that's been paid to Epic Games, it just hasn't been used. In that regard, Epic effectively becomes a bank, sitting on unused money. It also allows Epic to offer refunds directly into wallets, rather than through payment systems, again allowing it to retain cash rather than losing it.
There is no timetable for when the Epic Games Wallet will be implemented into the Epic Games Store. If history is any indication, it could take months if not years before wallets are finished. Epic Games isn't the type of company to rush features for the Epic Games Store, but this feature does seem lucrative.
Criticism isn't rare for the Epic Games Store, so it's unsurprising that the wallet feature jumping onto the "Up Next" list leading to some users venting their frustration. The lack of a shopping cart remains a sore spot for many users, as does the inability to gift games to others. Still, regardless of the order of features and regardless of the timetable, Epic Games continues to keep working on building out the Epic Games Store.