Mastercard Teams With TerraPay to Expand Digital Wallet Use

Mastercard has launched a digital wallet partnership with money movement company TerraPay.

This collaboration is designed to provide the latest in digital payment capabilities to Mastercard’s wallet partners, which include mobile money wallets, FinTechs and banks, the companies said in a Thursday (Dec. 11) news release.

“Together, we’re bringing true payment interoperability to wallets globally, enabling them to pay at millions of acceptance points and empowering people everywhere to move and pay safely, instantly, and without borders,” TerraPay founder and CEO Ambar Sur said in the release.

According to the release, the partnership will let wallet customers “transact seamlessly” at more than 150 million Mastercard acceptance locations using NFC (near-field communication) payments, while wallet providers get the benefits of the two companies’ tech and infrastructure.

The companies note that 70% of in-person Mastercard transactions are now contactless, which they contend are up to 10 times faster than other face-to-face payment methods. In addition, contactless-enabled accounts spend more on average than their non-contactless counterparts.

“Digital wallets have been fueling the secular shift in emerging markets. They can offer global scale and secure payment technology to consumers to increase usage,” the release added.

“In addition to online payments, they can be used for contactless payments at points of sale (POS), which are gaining popularity among shoppers and merchants alike due to their speed and security.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows consumers are using mobile wallets more often. In-store use of these wallets had surged to 31% as of this summer, up to 14% a year earlier. This growth was led by millennials, with close to half of that age group saying they had used a mobile wallet in the last week. That’s a 112% increase over 2024’s numbers.

And while baby boomers are still the smallest user group at 7.9%, their usage nonetheless rose 147% year over year as adoption spread across age cohorts.

The report also examines why consumers first try mobile wallets and what keeps them using the technology.

“Ease of use is the leading motivator across the population, particularly for Gen Z, who value speed at checkout,” PYMNTS wrote. “Older users often cite security as the main reason for adopting mobile wallets, and high-income consumers tend to experiment with wallets out of interest in new technology.”

Additional research by PYMNYS has found that 82% of merchants planned to expand use of digital wallets this year, with the trend bleeding into the B2B space.

“Consumer expectations for frictionless payments are pushing businesses to mirror those habits in B2B transactions, where mobile wallets can reduce administrative costs and provide real-time spending insights,” that report said.