Digital wallets have had a remarkable impact on financial inclusion over the past decade, particularly in Africa and Latin America, but enabling them to interoperate has presented a challenge. In my latest Forbes column, I looked at how TerraPay is taking on the challenge through its Wallet Interoperability Council.

Announced in August, TerraPay’s Wallet Interoperability Council is intended to enable participating wallets to interconnect and interoperate for multiple cross-border transaction types, including remittances and merchant payments. Through the council, TerraPay intends to harness the connections it has already built with around 145 different wallets globally, and in particular the messaging protocols it has developed with each of these, but it will also enable participating wallets to collaborate and share knowledge to drive innovation in the space. 

In my column, myself and our Editor-in-Chief, Lucy, spoke to TerraPay’s President Ruben Salazar Genovez and Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer Ani Sane, as well as representatives from two of the biggest participating wallets: M-PESA owner Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services Officer Esther Waititu and bKash’s Chief Commercial Officer Ali Ahmmed. 

You can read the full article on Forbes, but here are some of the key takeaways:

• Digital wallets have developed significantly in the last decade and vastly improved financial inclusion in many parts of the world, adding cross-border capabilities through partnerships with players such as TerraPay in response to customer demand.
• TerraPay sees the council as the next step here, because it enables broad collaborative interoperability that can be joined once, rather than bilateral agreements that need to be negotiated and developed between every individual player. This not only reduces inefficiencies, but also has the potential to lower costs in the process.
• Ruben sees this as a unique offering, arguing that there is currently no single network for wallets to interoperate in this way. 
• For digital wallets who have already signed up, the council provides the opportunity to improve cross-border access globally as well as the ability to communicate with other players and act as a broader bloc to set standards and drive innovation within the global landscape. This includes areas around security, and well as features and capabilities. 
• It also provides an environment for digital wallets to move beyond their initial goals of financial inclusion, and take the next steps in developing the financial capabilities of their customers.

Read my full Forbes column on TerraPay’s Wallet Interoperability Council

Daniel Webber

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Daniel is Founder and CEO at FXC Intelligence. Daniel is a leading influencer in the global payments space internationally. He is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences and provide insights and data on the sector. Daniel is widely quoted across the sector including in The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Daniel is also a contributor for Forbes.com. FXC Intelligence's weekly industry newsletter is the most widely read in the international payments market.

Lucy Ingham

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Lucy is Head of Content & Editor-in-Chief at FXC Intelligence, overseeing all content and taking deep dives into the trends and data driving changes in payments. Before joining FXC Intelligence, Lucy worked as a technology journalist and editor, interviewing CEOs and major names across enterprise technology, including fintech. She has an MSc in Development Anthropology from Durham University.