Mastercard launches Wallet Pay to connect digital wallets globally
Mastercard launches Wallet Pay to connect digital wallets globally #
Mastercard has unveiled Wallet Pay, a suite of services built to link the digital wallet ecosystem, with the payments network aiming to serve as shared infrastructure for contactless, QR code and online transactions worldwide.
The company announced the product in Singapore. Digital wallets now serve more than 4.3 billion people globally, and Mastercard projects that figure will exceed 6 billion by the end of the decade.
Wallet Pay is built around four services: cross-border interoperability between wallets and payment types; a card-issuing module that lets wallet operators launch credit, debit or prepaid programs; a unified acceptance layer for card and wallet payments in-person and online; and a money-movement service covering more than 200 countries and territories and more than 150 currencies. Mastercard says wallet providers can add these capabilities without major changes to their existing systems.
The platform launched with a broad group of partners already enrolled. Digital payment providers using it include Alipay+, Ant International’s cross-border wallet service, whose partner wallets include AlipayHK, Clip, GCash, KakaoPay, TNG eWallet and TrueMoney. Other participants include Axian, CRED, DaviPlata, Mercado Pago, MTN and TenPay Global, covering markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Together, the services are designed to connect more than 3.7 billion Mastercard credentials to participating wallets.
Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief product officer, described wallets as “gateways to the digital economy and launchpads for broader financial services,” and said Wallet Pay is intended to help payment providers improve interoperability and user experience, underpinned by trust and security.
Adolfo Babatz, founder and CEO of Mexican payments firm Clip, said his platform was able to launch its consumer wallet with full interoperability from the outset, giving merchants and consumers immediate access to a global payment network.
For Mastercard, whose core revenue has historically come from card transactions, Wallet Pay reflects a strategic bet that growth in digital payments will come from providing the infrastructure that wallets run on, rather than competing with them directly.
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