Mastercard joins OpenWallet Foundation, Paycode partners up to scale digital transactions

A new foundation membership and a technology partnership announced by digital wallet and payment providers are aimed at making digital interactions more scalable and interoperable.

Mastercard is joining the mission to advance digital wallets and credentials as it becomes the newest member of the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF).

The OWF adds the payments giant as its newest premier member with Mastercard’s involvement strengthening the foundation’s goal of driving interoperability, innovation and openness in the digital wallet ecosystem.

“By partnering with the OpenWallet Foundation, Mastercard aims to leverage its expertise in digital identity to enhance OWF’s initiatives,” said Dennis Gamiello, executive vice president, Identity, Mastercard.

“This collaboration will pave the way for innovative solutions that promote interoperability and secure digital interactions.”

OWF is hosted by Linux Foundation Europe, providing a vendor-neutral space for companies, nonprofits and the public sector to collaborate on the development of open source software for interoperable digital wallets. Alongside Mastercard, other premier members include Google, Visa and Futurewei Technologies.

“Mastercard’s participation [in OWF] is a significant endorsement of our shared vision for a more interoperable and open wallet infrastructure,” said Daniel Goldscheider, founder and executive director, OWF.

Gabriele Columbro, general manager of Linux Foundation Europe, commented: “Mastercard’s joining represents a strong signal from a key industry player that open collaboration is essential to solving complex challenges around digital trust and wallet interoperability.”

Algorand Foundation and Paycode partner for offline-first digital payments

Blockchain platform company the Algorand Foundation is entering a strategic partnership with Paycode to support the delivery of financial services to people with low connectivity.

Paycode operates offline digital payment systems secured with biometrics, serving countries including Ghana, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Afghanistan where large segments of the population remain offline and unbanked. The South African company has been recognized for its efforts at promoting financial inclusion across Africa.

Through the partnership, Paycode and Algorand will explore integrating public blockchain technology to strengthen digital identity systems, improve transparency and new models for inclusive payments at scale.

“This partnership brings blockchain into direct service of people who need it most,” says Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation. “Paycode is already reaching some of the most difficult places to serve. Together, we have the opportunity to make those systems more transparent, efficient, and trusted.”

Currently, Paycode’s technology is used by more than six million people across eight countries, many of whom live in offline, remote and underserved regions. Through the partnership, Paycode will migrate its digital payment infrastructure to Algorand’s blockchain to power future offline-first payment systems.

Paycode has facilitated the secure disbursement of $250 million in aid and social payments, according to the company, driving financial inclusion via biometric identity, offline digital wallets and real-time payments.

“This collaboration supports our goal to extend secure, offline digital finance to those most excluded from the formal economy,” says Gabe Ruhan, CEO at Paycode. “With Algorand, we can explore ways to future-proof our infrastructure and unlock new use cases for public-good payments.”

Article Topics

Algorand Foundation  |  biometrics  |  blockchain  |  digital wallets  |  financial inclusion  |  Mastercard  |  OpenWallet Foundation (OWF)  |  Paycode