diff --git a/acapy_agent/askar/profile.py b/acapy_agent/askar/profile.py
index e80bc569f1..313c026bf3 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/askar/profile.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/askar/profile.py
@@ -324,7 +324,9 @@ async def provision(
     ) -> Profile:
         """Provision a new instance of a profile."""
         store_config = AskarStoreConfig(config)
-        opened = await store_config.open_store(provision=True)
+        opened = await store_config.open_store(
+            provision=True, in_memory=config.get("test")
+        )
         return AskarProfile(opened, context)
 
     async def open(
@@ -332,7 +334,9 @@ async def open(
     ) -> Profile:
         """Open an instance of an existing profile."""
         store_config = AskarStoreConfig(config)
-        opened = await store_config.open_store(provision=False)
+        opened = await store_config.open_store(
+            provision=False, in_memory=config.get("test")
+        )
         return AskarProfile(opened, context)
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/acapy_agent/askar/profile_anon.py b/acapy_agent/askar/profile_anon.py
index eea73d876f..9a3cb3e622 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/askar/profile_anon.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/askar/profile_anon.py
@@ -277,7 +277,9 @@ async def provision(
     ) -> Profile:
         """Provision a new instance of a profile."""
         store_config = AskarStoreConfig(config)
-        opened = await store_config.open_store(provision=True)
+        opened = await store_config.open_store(
+            provision=True, in_memory=config.get("test")
+        )
         return AskarAnoncredsProfile(opened, context)
 
     async def open(
@@ -285,7 +287,9 @@ async def open(
     ) -> Profile:
         """Open an instance of an existing profile."""
         store_config = AskarStoreConfig(config)
-        opened = await store_config.open_store(provision=False)
+        opened = await store_config.open_store(
+            provision=False, in_memory=config.get("test")
+        )
         return AskarAnoncredsProfile(opened, context)
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_start.py b/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_start.py
index 451ab584bb..57b80a909d 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_start.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_start.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ def test_exec_start(self):
                     "0.0.0.0",
                     "80",
                     "--no-ledger",
+                    "--wallet-test",
                 ]
             )
             start_app.assert_called_once()
diff --git a/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_upgrade.py b/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_upgrade.py
index 51a33640a3..8aa36d61af 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_upgrade.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/commands/tests/test_upgrade.py
@@ -397,6 +397,7 @@ async def test_execute(self):
                     "--from-version",
                     "v0.7.0",
                     "--force-upgrade",
+                    "--wallet-test",
                 ]
             )
 
diff --git a/acapy_agent/config/argparse.py b/acapy_agent/config/argparse.py
index ec0d3d95e1..87a67aeaf7 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/config/argparse.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/config/argparse.py
@@ -1610,13 +1610,13 @@ def add_arguments(self, parser: ArgumentParser):
             "--wallet-type",
             type=str,
             metavar="<wallet-type>",
-            default="basic",
+            default="askar",
             env_var="ACAPY_WALLET_TYPE",
             help=(
                 "Specifies the type of wallet provider to use. "
-                "Supported internal storage types are 'basic' (memory), 'askar' "
+                "Supported internal storage types are 'askar' "
                 "and 'askar-anoncreds'."
-                "The default (if not specified) is 'basic'."
+                "The default (if not specified) is 'askar'."
             ),
         )
         parser.add_argument(
@@ -1627,11 +1627,23 @@ def add_arguments(self, parser: ArgumentParser):
             env_var="ACAPY_WALLET_STORAGE_TYPE",
             help=(
                 "Specifies the type of wallet backend to use. "
-                "Supported internal storage types are 'basic' (memory), "
-                "'default' (sqlite), and 'postgres_storage'.  The default, "
+                "Supported internal storage types are 'default' (sqlite), "
+                "and 'postgres_storage'.  The default, "
                 "if not specified, is 'default'."
             ),
         )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--wallet-test",
+            action="store_true",
+            default=False,
+            env_var="ACAPY_WALLET_TEST",
+            help=(
+                "Using this option will create a wallet with an in-memory askar wallet "
+                "storage with a random name. This is useful for testing purposes. "
+                "The data will not be persisted after the agent is stopped. The default "
+                "is False. "
+            ),
+        )
         parser.add_argument(
             "--wallet-storage-config",
             type=str,
@@ -1714,6 +1726,8 @@ def get_settings(self, args: Namespace) -> dict:
             settings["wallet.storage_type"] = args.wallet_storage_type
         if args.wallet_type:
             settings["wallet.type"] = args.wallet_type
+        if args.wallet_test:
+            settings["wallet.test"] = True
         if args.wallet_key_derivation_method:
             settings["wallet.key_derivation_method"] = args.wallet_key_derivation_method
         if args.wallet_rekey_derivation_method:
@@ -1731,7 +1745,7 @@ def get_settings(self, args: Namespace) -> dict:
         # check required settings for persistent wallets
         if settings["wallet.type"] in ["askar", "askar-anoncreds"]:
             # requires name, key
-            if not args.wallet_name or not args.wallet_key:
+            if not args.wallet_test and (not args.wallet_name or not args.wallet_key):
                 raise ArgsParseError(
                     "Parameters --wallet-name and --wallet-key must be provided "
                     "for persistent wallets"
diff --git a/acapy_agent/config/tests/test_argparse.py b/acapy_agent/config/tests/test_argparse.py
index b80e478032..c3965de392 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/config/tests/test_argparse.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/config/tests/test_argparse.py
@@ -525,10 +525,7 @@ async def test_wallet_key_derivation_method_value_parsing(self):
         group.add_arguments(parser)
 
         result = parser.parse_args(
-            [
-                "--wallet-key-derivation-method",
-                key_derivation_method,
-            ]
+            ["--wallet-key-derivation-method", key_derivation_method, "--wallet-test"]
         )
 
         settings = group.get_settings(result)
@@ -545,6 +542,7 @@ async def test_wallet_key_value_parsing(self):
             [
                 "--wallet-key",
                 key_value,
+                "--wallet-test",
             ]
         )
 
diff --git a/acapy_agent/config/wallet.py b/acapy_agent/config/wallet.py
index f857b07847..ce5beb8fc3 100644
--- a/acapy_agent/config/wallet.py
+++ b/acapy_agent/config/wallet.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
     "storage_config",
     "storage_creds",
     "storage_type",
+    "test",
 }