Mastercard has introduced Mastercard Wallet Pay, a global portfolio of payment solutions designed to improve interoperability and expand the capabilities of digital wallets 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. Usage is expected to surpass 6 billion users by 2030 as consumers increasingly rely on wallets for payments and other financial services.
Wallet Pay is designed to help wallet providers offer payment and money movement services across borders while connecting users to the wider 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 physical and digital locations worldwide.
The Wallet Pay portfolio covers interoperability between wallets, platforms and payment methods, secure issuing of credit, debit and prepaid cards, digital and e-commerce payment acceptance, and faster money movement across more than 200 countries and territories and 150 currencies.
It also includes financial tools aimed at supporting underbanked and unbanked consumers, allowing wallet providers to expand their services without having to develop extensive payment connectivity independently.
Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard, said digital wallets have become gateways to the digital economy and can support the delivery of broader financial services through greater interoperability, trust, scale and convenience.
Joyce Bo, Executive Vice President of Core Payments for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said the next stage of digital wallet development will centre on interoperability and expanding access across merchants, use cases and international markets.
In Africa, Mastercard is working with AXIAN and MTN Group Fintech to extend digital wallet services and connectivity. AXIAN’s MVola and Mixx services are combining local market reach with international payment connectivity, while MTN’s partnership with Mastercard is connecting millions of MoMo users to the global economy.
Cedric N’Guessan, Executive for Payments and E-Commerce at MTN Group Fintech, said partnerships and scalable infrastructure are important to expanding financial inclusion in Africa.
Mastercard said Wallet Pay builds on its broader financial inclusion efforts by helping wallet providers introduce additional payment and financial services while making use of existing infrastructure.
