Mastercard has unveiled a new portfolio of digital wallet services aimed at improving interoperability between wallets and expanding access to digital payments.

Mastercard Wallet Pay is a suite of solutions designed to support contactless, QR code and online payments while enabling wallet providers to connect more easily across different platforms and markets.

According to Mastercard, digital wallets are now used by more than 4.3 billion people worldwide, with global adoption expected to exceed six billion users by 2030.

The company said Wallet Pay is intended to help wallet providers deliver a more seamless payment experience while supporting cross-border commerce, money transfers and financial inclusion.

A number of payment providers have already adopted the platform, including Alipay+ partner wallets AlipayHK, Clip, GCash, KakaoPay, TNG eWallet, and TrueMoney, alongside Axian, CRED, DaviPlata, Mercado Pago, MTN, and TenPay Global.

Mastercard said the platform enables wallet providers to connect to its global acceptance network, giving consumers access to hundreds of millions of merchant locations and digital payment acceptance points worldwide.

The Wallet Pay portfolio includes support for issuing credit, debit and prepaid cards through digital wallets, online and in-store payment acceptance, faster cross-border transfers across more than 200 countries and territories and 150 currencies, and services aimed at expanding access to financial products for underbanked consumers.

Mastercard said Wallet Pay has been designed to work with existing wallet infrastructure, allowing providers to introduce new payment capabilities without significant changes to their technology stack.

The company believes growing interoperability between wallets will help accelerate adoption of digital payments while enabling providers to expand internationally and develop new revenue opportunities.

Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, said digital wallets had evolved beyond payment tools into broader financial platforms.

"Wallets are gateways to the digital economy and launchpads for broader financial services," he said. "Through our Wallet Pay solutions, we're helping payment providers enhance the interoperability and user experience of their services, underpinned by trust, scale and convenience."

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