The new digital wallet will sit at the heart of Virgin Money’s payments, loyalty and unsecured credit offering to customers, Virgin Money said. The statement added: "Virgin Money’s digital wallet will be a compelling customer proposition in the UK, offering a fully branded, seamless and secure payment mechanism which will integrate with Virgin Money’s broader suite of customer products and services." The first release of the digital wallet is anticipated to be available to customers in the second half of 2022. Virgin Money Chief Executive Officer David Duffy said: “Our branded digital wallet will truly bring to life the benefits of Virgin Money’s unique customer offer. By fully integrating the Virgin Red rewards club alongside our broader suite of products and services, we can create compelling value for both customers and the bank.” Jeff Sloan, Chief Executive Officer, Global Payments said: “We have a unique advantage of combining both sides of the payments ecosystem, coupling our merchant and issuing capabilities to deliver the next generation of digital commerce to our clients. Together with Virgin Money, we are building best-in-class digital solutions to provide exceptional, frictionless experiences for Virgin Money customers and merchants.” Mr Duffy added: “We performed very strongly in FY21, with an expected return to statutory profit before tax underpinned by significant underlying profit growth. We increased our net interest margin, reduced costs, improved impairments and delivered a strong capital progression which enabled the proposed reinstatement of a dividend. “Our accelerated digital strategy will result in new propositions, including a digital wallet, and will deliver efficiency and agility improvements. The combination of these factors will help us to become a growth-oriented digital bank that offers a best-in-class experience and unique loyalty rewards for customers, and delivers double-digit returns for shareholders.”