The news: Mastercard launched Mastercard Wallet Pay, a portfolio of solutions aimed at increasing global acceptance for digital wallets across contactless, QR codes, and online digital payments, per a press release. 

Digital wallets such as AliPay+, Mercado Pago, MTN, and TenPay Global have already adopted Wallet Pay.

Why this matters: Digital wallets are now the No. 1 payment method globally, accounting for 56% of ecommerce and 33% of POS payment value, per Global Payments’ Global Payments Report. By 2030, the number of digital wallet users worldwide will increase by 35% to over 6 billion users, per Juniper Research.

Other payment providers have invested in wallet interoperability to help consumers shop across borders.

• PayPal enables US users to checkout at Weixin Pay merchants through their app.
• Visa and Mastercard have partnerships with Alipay to help travelers link their cards to their digital wallets.
• And Citi partnered with wallet network Dandelion to facilitate money movement across wallets in the Phillipines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Colombia.  

Implications for payment providers: Solutions like Mastercard’s Wallet Pay widen digital wallets’ usability for global consumers. 

Competing digital wallets must seek out partnerships that widen their acceptance to retain users. To maintain loyalty, digital wallets should also incorporate broader services into their platforms like BNPL, digital IDs, passes, travel assistance, and consumer tracking. 

• Apple Wallet now hosts tickets, gift cards, and passes.
• Google Wallet courts parents and Gen Alpha kids with parental payout features.
• And Walmart’s OnePay has even pushed into auto finance: Within the My Garage tab, the digital wallet shows vehicle value, loan equity, payoff timeline, car insurance options, and gas rewards.

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