Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
OpenWay Expands UnionPay Card Support On Way4 Platform
Mar 12, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Card Networks
Platform Integration Adds Issuing, Acquiring, Tokenization and Wallet Support for Banks and Fintechs
On Mar 12 2026, OpenWay announced that its Way4 digital payments platform now supports the full set of UnionPay International card products. The company said Way4 clients can issue UnionPay cards, process acquiring transactions, run switching infrastructure, and support tokenization and digital wallet integrations through the same platform. OpenWay also said the first UnionPay Big Pay deployment on Way4 is already live with six major banks in Central Asia, with additional rollouts expected.
It is a live infrastructure rollout that combines four core payment functions in one stack. For banks and fintechs, that can reduce integration work, shorten launch timelines, and make it easier to support wallet based payments and tokenized credentials across markets.
Why This Is More Than A Network Announcement
OpenWay is the software layer behind the card. On its corporate site, OpenWay says Way4 is used by banks, processors, acquirers, payment service providers, telcos, national payment switches, and fintech startups. The platform handles account management, digital wallets, card issuing, acquiring, switching, and e commerce gateway functions.
UnionPay brings the network scale. On its official site, UnionPay International says it enables card acceptance in 180 countries and regions through partnerships with more than 2,500 institutions worldwide. When a platform like Way4 adds full UnionPay support, the point is not just another card option. It is faster access to a very large acceptance network through one operating system.
See: Why Card Fraud Can Continue After You Cancel Your Cards
Card networks still matter, but the software platforms connecting issuers, acquirers, wallets, and tokenization services are becoming more important in their own right. Especially as digital wallets, tokenized credentials, and cross border acceptance keep growing. Institutions increasingly compete on how fast they can launch, how easily they can add wallet and token support, and how much complexity they can remove from their payments stack.
That creates room for companies building issuer processing, orchestration, fraud controls, wallet enablement, and merchant routing tools.
Talking Point
As card networks push deeper into tokenization and wallets, will the strongest edge by the network brand or with the platform that runs the infrastructure behind it?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Leave a Reply