Much like JPMorgan's Chase Pay, Citi's new digital wallet will provide customers with a mobile option for online, in-app and in-store payment needs.

Both banks view their respective offerings as a digital extension of their current card relationship, capable of working across a multitude of smartphones and not vying for top-of-wallet positioning in non-bank alternatives from the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google.

Citi customers will be able to make online and in-app purchases using the same online user ID and password that they currently use to manage their existing banking relationship and retain the perks and loyalty options that come from being a Citi cardholder.

For online and in-app transactions, Citi is using MasterCard's MasterPass service, making the wallet available at hundreds of thousands of merchants across 33 countries at launch.

“Whether it is online, on a phone, or at a store, we want Citi customers to have seamless, convenient and fast payment options wherever they go,” says Barry Rodrigues, head of global digital payments at Citi. “With more than 100 million customers in the fastest-growing cities in 19 countries, Citi is uniquely positioned to accelerate payment innovation on a global scale.”

Later this year, Citi Pay will be rolled out to customers in Singapore, Australia and Mexico with tap and pay capabilities. Citi Pay will also launch in the US in early 2017, with online, in-app and tap and pay capabilities.

Citi Pay is the latest digital payments announcement from the bank. Earlier this year, Citi joined the US bank-backed Zelle P2P payments network and enabled Samsung Pay for its card members in Singapore and Australia.