Mastercard Launches ‘Pay Local’ to Expand Digital Wallet Payment Options for Consumers Worldwide
With Mastercard’s new Pay Local service, over 2 billion Mastercard cardholders can now use their cards within local digital wallets, making card-based payments simpler and more accessible for both residents and international travelers. This innovative service allows consumers to link their Mastercard credit or debit cards directly to participating local digital wallets, enabling hassle-free payments at merchants without needing to set up or load funds into a prepaid account.
Several leading digital wallets in the Asia-Pacific region, including DANA (Indonesia), Touch ‘n Go (Malaysia), Bakong (Cambodia), and LankaPay (Sri Lanka), are already integrating Mastercard Pay Local. Through this service, these wallets will support payments at more than 35 million merchants worldwide. Pay Local also aims to serve regions where digital wallets are a primary method of payment, such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The service builds on Mastercard’s ongoing partnerships with major wallet providers like Alipay and Weixin Pay in Mainland China and Octopus in Hong Kong. By offering a familiar payment experience, Pay Local gives international visitors the freedom to use their Mastercard cards as if they were locals, regardless of where their cards were issued.
Key Benefits of Mastercard Pay Local:
- For MSMEs: Hundreds of millions of micro, small, and medium enterprises can attract more customers without significant infrastructure investments or operational changes.
- For Wallet Operators: The service expands wallet usage to cardholders, providing a smooth user experience and enabling a faster market rollout.
- For Card Issuers: By expanding points of acceptance, card issuers can better serve their customers globally.
- For Consumers: Local residents gain access to more merchants, while tourists enjoy the convenience of seamless payments across their destinations.
“Mastercard continues to set new standards in the payments industry by creating global solutions with local relevance,” said Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer. “Our work with domestic networks and alternative payment methods underscores our commitment to delivering meaningful innovation. Mastercard Pay Local broadens the acceptance landscape for everyone.”
In addition to Asia-Pacific, several digital wallets across Southeast Asia, such as GrabPay, Maya, ShopBack, and TrueMoney, and in Latin America, such as Mercado Pago, already accept Mastercard payments. In Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Mastercard collaborates with wallet and mobile operators like MTN Fintech, Airtel Africa, JazzCash, and M-Pesa to increase acceptance points for travelers and residents alike.
Hear from our partners:
DANA, Indonesia:
“At DANA, we are committed to enhancing the accessibility and convenience of digital payments for all users. By collaborating with Mastercard, we are excited to offer international travelers a seamless way to register and bind their cards to DANA, furthering our mission of bridging financial inclusion across borders. This partnership reflects our dedication to improving user experience and supporting global financial mobility as we anticipate increased international travel,” said Darrick Rochili, chief innovation officer of DANA.
Touch ‘n Go, Malaysia:
“As Malaysia’s leading digital wallet and financial services provider, we are proud to have expanded our services beyond national borders, enabling users to travel cashless and make seamless payments internationally. Our collaboration with Mastercard underscores the strength of our open platform strategy, allowing us to extend cashless payment solutions to international travelers visiting Malaysia, contributing to the country’s tourism industry and economy. We are pleased to offer inbound tourists the convenience of cashless transactions via QR payment at over 2 million merchants, retail outlets, and service providers across Malaysia,” said Alan Ni, CEO at TNG Digital.
About Mastercard
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
