Mastercard, a global leader in payment technology and innovation, has announced the launch a new product to streamline how consumers make payments.
The offering, known as of Mastercard Pay Local, allows customers to connect their Mastercard cards to local digital wallets worldwide, just ahead of the annual Singapore FinTech Festival.
It was introduced to address the growing need for a seamless payment experience for both local residents and international travellers.
The goal is to make it easier for people to shop at any location that accepts participating digital wallets, without the need to top up a prepaid account or set up a separate wallet.
Mastercard provides a wide range of payment solutions designed to connect billions of consumers with merchants globally. With a focus on financial inclusivity, Mastercard’s technology bridges the gap between individuals, businesses, and financial institutions in over 210 countries and territories.
With Mastercard Pay Local, cardholders can easily link their credit or debit cards to a supported local digital wallet, enabling them to shop instantly at millions of participating merchants worldwide.
Initially, Mastercard has partnered with major digital wallets in the Asia Pacific region, including DANA in Indonesia, Touch ‘n Go in Malaysia, Bakong in Cambodia, and LankaPay in Sri Lanka. The company’s plans include expanding this service to other regions with high digital wallet adoption, such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.
The Pay Local service provides a host of benefits to different stakeholders. For residents, Mastercard Pay Local enables them to pay micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that might not accept traditional card payments.
Travellers benefit from the ability to use their cards internationally without complications.
The service helps wallet operators extend their reach by appealing to card users, while card issuers can offer their customers increased acceptance points globally.
Mastercard Pay Local builds on the company’s existing partnerships with well-known wallets like Alipay and Weixin Pay in the Chinese Mainland, as well as Octopus in Hong Kong SAR, providing visitors with a way to “pay like locals” when they travel.
This service further supports Mastercard’s network in Southeast Asia, as wallets such as GrabPay in Southeast Asia, Maya in the Philippines, ShopBack in Singapore, and TrueMoney in Thailand already accept Mastercard cards.
Mastercard has extended an invitation to businesses interested in learning more about Mastercard Pay Local to visit its information page and complete a contact form. A Mastercard representative will reach out with additional details.
“With Pay Local, Mastercard is extending its global network to partner wallets and expanding acceptance by making it possible for Asia’s digital wallets to process card-based payments. This creates a low-cost, simple, stable, and secure connection between over 35 million merchants in Asia Pacific and two billion Mastercard cardholders,” Mastercard executive vice president, Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific, Sandeep Malhotra said. “Locals benefit from new payment options while tourists can use their cards as they do at home, making travel infinitely easier, with one less thing to worry about while on the road.”
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