Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Expand Digital Wallet Interoperability Globally
The company said digital wallets have evolved into multi-service platforms, with more than 4.3 billion users globally and usage expected to exceed 6 billion by 2030.
Mastercard has introduced Mastercard Wallet Pay, a global portfolio of solutions designed to improve interoperability and expand digital payment capabilities for wallet providers across contactless payments, QR codes and online transactions.
The company said digital wallets have evolved into multi-service platforms, with more than 4.3 billion users globally and usage expected to exceed 6 billion by 2030. Wallet Pay is designed to help providers deliver payment and money movement services across borders while supporting greater access to the digital economy.
Mastercard said the portfolio is being rolled out through collaborations with digital payment providers including Alipay+, AXIAN, CRED, DaviPlata, Mercado Pago, MTN and TenPay Global. The partnerships are expected to expand access to Mastercard’s acceptance network and digital payment infrastructure across hundreds of millions of locations and digital access points worldwide.
The Wallet Pay portfolio includes interoperability across wallets, platforms and payment types, secure issuing for credit, debit and prepaid cards, digital and e-commerce payment acceptance, accelerated money movement across 200-plus countries and territories and 150 currencies, as well as financial tools aimed at underbanked and unbanked consumers.
“Wallets are gateways to the digital economy and launchpads for broader financial services. Through our Wallet Pay solutions, we’re helping payment providers to enhance the interoperability and user experience of their services, underpinned by trust, scale and convenience for the people and businesses they serve.”
– Jorn Lambert, Chief Product officer, Mastercard
Joyce Bo, executive vice president, Core Payments, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said the next phase of digital wallets will focus on interoperability and expanding their reach across merchants, use cases and borders.
“Consumers and merchants don’t think about the complexity behind payments. They simply want to pay and get paid using the payment experiences they already know and trust, whether they’re shopping at home or abroad. The first chapter of digital wallets was adoption. The next chapter is interoperability at scale. As wallet ecosystems mature, the challenge is extending their reach across more merchants, use cases and borders. Mastercard Wallet Pay helps wallet providers expand what they can offer, from cross-border payments to card issuing, without having to build all of that connectivity themselves.”
– Joyce Bo, Executive Vice President, Core Payments, Asia Pacific, Mastercard
In Africa, Mastercard is working with AXIAN and MTN Group Fintech to extend digital wallet services and connectivity. AXIAN said its MVola and Mixx services are combining local reach with global payment connectivity, while MTN said its partnership with Mastercard is connecting millions of MoMo users to the global economy.
“Financial inclusion in Africa requires strong partnerships and scalable infrastructure. Our partnership with Mastercard is connecting millions of MoMo users to the global economy. The combination of our local reach and Mastercard global network is a powerful way to unlock opportunities for millions.”
– Cedric N’Guessan, Executive, Payments and E-Commerce, MTN Group Fintech
Mastercard said Wallet Pay builds on its wider financial inclusion efforts and is intended to support the expansion of digital wallets while enabling providers to introduce new payment and financial services without significant changes to their existing infrastructure.
