BPC has launched a guide that supports financial institutions in creating next-generation closed and open-loop wallet ecosystems.
The guide, “Your Essential Guide to Building Closed and Open-Loop Wallet Ecosystems,” provides a roadmap for designing, launching, and scaling digital wallet platforms in today's payments landscape.
Digital wallets have approximately 3.4 billion active users worldwide, facilitating nearly USD 9 trillion in annual payments. By 2026, user adoption is expected to rise to 5.4 billion, positioning wallets as a primary financial tool for almost two-thirds of the global population by 2030.
Key insights
The main observations of the guide include:
- Merchants that integrate digital wallets see an increase of 25–30% in average transaction values;
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile wallets processed over 17 billion transactions in the first half of 2024, establishing the region as a global leader in mobile money adoption;
- In the Asia-Pacific region, India's UPI system now manages over 16 billion transactions monthly, largely supported by wallet ecosystems;
- In Europe, digital wallets currently represent 44% of ecommerce payments, with growth expected to accelerate by more than 20% through 2029.
The new guide explores a variety of wallet ecosystems, spanning from closed-loop models that increase customer loyalty within brand-controlled networks to open-loop systems that facilitate global interoperability by integrating with payment networks like Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay.
It provides a detailed, step-by-step approach to transitioning from a closed-loop environment to a fully open-loop ecosystem, tackling challenges such as regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, interoperability, and scalability.
The SmartVista platform from BPC serves as a robust foundation for creating closed and open-loop wallet systems. It boasts a modular, microservices-based architecture, supports multiple currencies and channels, and allows for simplified integration with global payment networks. With its security features, loyalty programs, and real-time transaction capabilities, institutions can deliver user-friendly, scalable, and compliant wallet solutions.
