New Mastercard App to Add Virtual Cards to Digital Wallets

Mastercard has launched a new app that lets users of virtual commercial cards add them to their digital wallets, the payment company announced.

With the app, customers of participating financial institutions can receive an invitation code to register for the app, which is available in major app stores. Once they register, their commercial virtual card will be automatically linked and can be added to select digital wallets, according to Mastercard. The company did not detail with which digital wallets it could be used.

The app uses Mastercard's virtual card and tokenization platforms, with virtual cards tokenized so that cardholder data is replaced by a unique card number in the app, and it applies spending controls so that cards are used within the parameters of an organization's expense policy, according to Mastercard. Users also can set up biometric authentication and a PIN-based additional security measure for card details.

Within the app, users can view balances and transactions, including across multiple cards issued by multiple participating financial institutions, according to Mastercard.

The first two financial institutions to offer mobile wallet functionality via the app to corporate customers are HSBC Australia and Sydney-based Westpac. HSBC Australia head of global payments John Scott said mobile wallet use in the Asia-Pacific region is growing, with more than half of digital payment transactions globally coming from the region, and that HSBC would be launching the technology in other markets later his year.