Mastercard launches Wallet Pay for digital wallets

Mastercard has launched Wallet Pay for digital wallets worldwide, with payment providers including Alipay+ and several regional wallet operators already using the product.

Wallet Pay is a portfolio of services for contactless, QR code and online payments. It is intended to help wallet providers connect across borders, support card programmes, accept payments in shops and online, and move money between cards, wallets and accounts.

The launch comes as digital wallets expand beyond simple payment tools into broader consumer finance platforms. Mastercard said digital wallets now serve more than 4.3 billion users worldwide and forecast global usage will exceed 6 billion by 2030.

Groups using the service include Alipay+ partner wallets AlipayHK, Clip, GCash, KakaoPay, TNG eWallet and TrueMoney. Other participants named by Mastercard are Axian, CRED, DaviPlata, Mercado Pago, MTN and TenPay Global.

The offering is designed to work with existing wallet infrastructure rather than require major changes to underlying systems. It can also extend access to hundreds of millions of acceptance locations and digital access points through Mastercard's network.

Partner network

Alipay+ has a central role in the launch because it links more than 50 e-wallets and banking apps, as well as more than 10 national payment schemes. That gives Mastercard a route into a broad group of wallet providers seeking wider international acceptance.

Peng Yang, Chief Executive Officer of Ant International, said the company viewed the arrangement as part of a wider effort to link local payment systems internationally. "The Alipay+ ecosystem represents the collective commitment of 50 mobile payment partners, over 10 national QR networks and over 150 million global merchants to transform local payment experiences into a truly borderless digital economy," said Yang. "Together with Mastercard and partners, Ant International looks forward to expanding global interoperability and mobile agentic commerce for people and businesses everywhere to connect and thrive.

For wallet operators, the appeal is the chance to offer users more ways to pay when travelling or shopping with overseas merchants without rebuilding their platforms from scratch. Several partners also pointed to the value of combining QR code payment systems, which dominate in many Asian markets, with contactless card-based acceptance.

"AlipayHK has provided Hong Kong residents with both scan and tap payment experiences, enabling users to make global payments through a single app," said Venetia Lee, CEO of AlipayHK. "Through the partnership between Mastercard Wallet Pay and Alipay+, this NFC payment forms a great alternative for our users that perfectly complements QR code payments while maintaining rigorous security. Wallet Pay has helped us accelerate time‐to‐market for new use cases and expanded our reach to merchants beyond Hong Kong to better serve our consumers. Partnering with Mastercard means scaling with trust - interoperable by design, and ready to turn innovation into everyday utility for our users and merchant partners."

Clip, which launched its Mi Clip consumer wallet in Mexico, said interoperability was a key factor from the start. "Our mission has always been to empower Mexicans and help them get started in the digital economy," said Adolfo Babatz, Founder and CEO of Clip. "We're proud to have partnered with both Mastercard and Ant International
on the launch of our consumer wallet Mi Clip in Mexico. Powered by Mastercard Wallet Pay and Alipay+, we have been able to launch our wallet with full interoperability from day one - giving our merchants and consumers access to a truly global payment network. This lets us keep innovating at the pace of our customers' needs, backed by the trust, security and scale that come from Mastercard's global infrastructure."

Regional reach

In South East Asia, operators focused on international acceptance and cross-border use. Wallet providers in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia said the arrangement gives users more ways to pay abroad and expands acceptance for incoming visitors.

"GCash has always aimed to uplift the lives of Filipinos through accessible financial tools," said Ren-Ren Reyes, President and CEO of G-Xchange, the mobile wallet operator of GCash. "Through the Alipay+ and Mastercard partnership, we can extend secure global acceptance and new digital experiences to our users, reinforcing our leadership in payments. Mastercard's trusted infrastructure lets us scale responsibly and let people experience world-class technology."

"At TNG Digital, we believe payments should be effortless, wherever our users are," said Alan Ni, Chief Executive Officer of TNG Digital. "Through our collaboration with Mastercard, we are extending the convenience of TNG eWallet beyond Malaysia, making it easier for our users to top up and pay using their eWallet when traveling abroad while giving international visitors a seamless way to enjoy the same convenience during their stay in Malaysia. Together we are delivering a more connected payment experience that gives users greater convenience and peace of mind, wherever life takes them."

"The future of digital wallets is not only about great user experiences, but also about interoperability that allows consumers to pay seamlessly wherever they are," said Monsinee Nakapanant, Co-President of Ascend Money, the operator of TrueMoney. "Through our collaboration with Alipay+ and Mastercard, TrueMoney can connect millions of users in Thailand to Mastercard's global acceptance network while making secure contactless payments simpler and more accessible. Together we're helping accelerate the next generation of connected digital payment experiences across Thailand and beyond."

Elsewhere, Mastercard highlighted financial inclusion as another use case, saying Wallet Pay can support low-cost financial tools for underbanked and unbanked consumers, especially in emerging markets.

That theme was echoed by African and Latin American partners. "Africa's digital wallets are gateways to opportunity, connecting people and businesses to an increasingly global digital economy," said Erwan Gelebart, Chief Executive Officer of Axian Digibank & Fintech. "Through MVola and Mixx, we are combining deep local relevance with global reach, enabling customers to pay, transact and move money more freely across borders. Mastercard Wallet Pay will help us take that ambition further, expanding secure, seamless and inclusive financial access across Africa."

DaviPlata cited figures from its card-linked wallet model in Colombia. "Together with Mastercard, we designed an innovative model that enabled us to build a unique digital debit card that removes entry barriers by eliminating acquisition costs, decisively driving the digital inclusion of unbanked customers. The result: In just 15 months, we reached 1.5 million active cards," said Marcela Ramirez Olaya, Chief Executive Officer of DaviPlata. "More recently, we took the payment experience to the next level by enabling this card to be linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing customers to pay directly from their mobile phones using their DaviPlata balance, complemented by exclusive benefits we have developed with leading merchant partners. All of this has translated into an outstanding usage rate of nearly two monthly transactions per customer, reinforcing our card as the preferred payment method for customers' everyday purchases."

Mastercard framed the launch around wallets as the main access point to digital commerce and broader financial services.

"Wallets are gateways to the digital economy and launchpads for broader financial services," said Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer at
Mastercard. "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.."