MeaWallet’s Issuer Pay: A powerful alternative to Google Wallet in underserved markets

Key takeaways 

• OEM wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet aren’t universally available. In fact, Apple Pay is currently available in only two countries in the whole of Africa
  
  
• In markets where Apple Pay and Google Wallet aren’t yet supported, there is a golden opportunity for businesses to turn their apps into a fully-fledged digital wallet.

• Creating a collective ‘national’ digital wallet could give innovative local banks the chance to win new customers and forge stronger relationships with their existing customers.

   

While the introduction of OEM wallets such as Apple Pay, has revolutionized the way people make both physical and digital payments in many countries, there are still some nations where Apple Pay isn't supported.

Consumers in India, the Philippines and Indonesia, are unable to use Apple Pay while their peers in other APAC markets such Japan, Malaysia and Australia can. In the whole of the African continent, only South Africa and Morocco support Apple Pay at the time of writing.

Similarly, Google Wallet isn’t universally supported either. But digital wallets are very popular in regions where Apple and Google don’t have 100% coverage yet, as our blogs on the state of tokenization in MENA and mobile wallet use in APAC highlight.

With the absence of support for the likes of Google Wallet – OEM wallets – there’s a golden opportunity for banks and businesses that want to offer their existing customers the convenience of digital wallets and in turn increase their appeal to the wider market. This will create conditions to stimulate market competition and drive an issuers overall market reach.

This gap in the market presents a perfect opportunity, Issuer Pay.

A secure and seamless user experience is vital for digital wallets, and this can't happen without tokenization. In order to digitize cards for use in a wallet, tokenization is a mandatory requirement. The process involves replacing sensitive card information with a unique digital identifier or token to enable the payments without revealing the card data.

One of the biggest advantages of tokenization is that the token is only valid in a very fixed set of circumstances. Whether it's linked to the mobile device itself, or used for a particular merchant, a token cannot be used outside of that context. This increases payment security and lowers the risk of fraud.

Thanks to the Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) framework, tokenization is not just useful for securing POS payments, but can greatly simplify e-commerce payments too.  

By using tokens for online and in-app payments, security is improved without compromising the user experience. Consumers get a smooth and harmonised checkout process, while merchants will have fewer abandoned shopping carts while increasing transaction security. 

MeaWallet’s Issuer Pay as an alternative to Google Wallet

It is interesting to keep in mind that, Apple does not permit for third parties to use their NFC, meaning that it is basically impossible that someone can create an issuer pay for iOS.

However, the tide may be changing, in recent news, the European Commission found Apple to be in breach of competition laws, which have resulted in them "freeing up" their NFC. This sets a precedence as to what other regions could expect to see in the future, as EU legislation is revered globally.

On the other hand, Issuer Pay acts as a great alternative to Google Wallet.

Issuer wallets provide a way to add tap-to-pay capabilities to an app, meaning consumers can make payments enabled by the biometric and facial recognition capabilities of their smartphones. Even better, the app can be customized, so issuers can use their own branding, allowing for a more personalized experience, keeping them in front of the customer.

So, how can issuers transform their app into Issuer wallets? Well, that’s where MeaWallet comes in. We digitize and issue cards that are connected to all of the major payment schemes. What’s more, MeaWallet handles all of the updates and compliance tasks, so the issuer can focus on what they do best – serving their customers.

Not just filling a gap – but taking the lead

Issuers may be deterred from launching their own wallet, this is partly due to the very real prospect of Google and/or Apple wallet launching in their territory, in the future. Why bother to create a stop-gap solution when the big OEM wallets will eventually arrive?

Well, we firmly believe that there’s a big opportunity for issuers in such countries to get ahead and collaborate on a large scale.

Issuers and banks now have the opportunity to disrupt their market, by collaborating and creating their own national digital wallet. By doing so, they could gain a competitive advantage as a first mover in the market, increase their appeal to non-customers and give existing customers extra reasons to stick with them. On top of this, there are some shared logistical benefits of teaming up such as splitting costs. This is partially what we are doing in Portugal.

MeaWallet prides itself on enabling innovation in financial services. If you want to find out more about how the Mea Token Platform for Issuer Pay can help turn your app into a mobile wallet with contactless payment functionality, get in touch today.

FAQs

Q: Apple Pay and Google Pay are available in my region. Can MeaWallet's Issuer Pay still work for me?

A: Yes, but we find in such cases that issuers would prefer to integrate their card offering into an Apple or Google Wallet instead.

Q: Isn't Issuer Pay a temporary solution until Apple Pay or Google Wallet launch in my region?

A: While the arrival of Apple Pay or Google Wallet is a possibility, MeaWallet's Issuer Pay offers several advantages. First, it allows you to be a first mover in your market, capturing customer loyalty and establishing your brand as a leader in digital payments. Second, Issuer Pay presents the opportunity for collaboration between banks and businesses, potentially creating a national digital wallet solution with wider reach and lower costs. Finally, Issuer Pay offers a customizable app experience, keeping your brand at the forefront for your customers.

Q: Do Google Wallet and Apple Pay charge transaction fees?

A: For merchants, Apple charge transaction fees every time a customer uses their digital wallet. Google Wallet does not charge a transaction fee, but they do require the issuer to share the transaction data with them. However, Issuer Pay does not charge transactions fees and doesn’t require a third-party to share data, meaning the issuer can own the customer experience.