MasterCard Launches MasterPass Digital Payments Service

MasterCard has introduced a digital service that allows consumers to use any payment card or enabled device to discover enhanced shopping experiences that are as simple as a click, tap or touch – online, in-store or anywhere.

Called MasterPass, the offering was launched during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

“Every device is becoming a shopping device,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “MasterPass brings together all of the ways we pay for things, from traditional plastic cards to digital wallets, and gives consumers the ability to make a payment from wherever they are and with one simple experience.”

MasterPass is the evolution of PayPass Wallet Services, which was announced in Spring of 2012 and has been in production trial with select merchants and issuers. Consumers around the world will now be able to sign up for the service through financial institutions in Australia and Canada by the end of March, and in the United States and the United Kingdom later in the Spring and Summer, respectively. Additionally, MasterPass availability in 2013 will expand to other markets worldwide, including Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain and Sweden.

The MasterPass suite of services includes:

• MasterPass checkout services: to provide merchants a consistent way to accept electronic payments regardless of where the consumer may be. For in-store scenarios either at the register or in the aisle, MasterPass will support the use of NFC, QR codes, tags and mobile devices used at points of sale. For online purchases, MasterPass provides shoppers a simple check-out process by eliminating the need to enter detailed shipping and card information with every purchase.
• MasterPass-connected wallets: to enable banks, merchants and partners to offer their own wallets. Consumers can securely store card information, address books and more in a secure cloud, hosted by an entity they trust. The wallet is open, which means that in addition to MasterCard cards, consumers can use other branded credit, debit and prepaid cards.
• MasterPass value added services: to enrich the shopping experience before, during and after checkout. These will include more information like account balances and real-time alerts, loyalty programs, as well as Priceless offers and experiences.

“The most successful next generation payment product will be considerate of a wider range of stakeholders in its design and allow them to impact the user experience according to their business need and still-evolving industry dynamics,” said Patricia Hewitt, director, Debit Advisory Service, Mercator Advisory Group. “MasterPass reflects this modern sensibility of agnostic-based design but leverages the muscle that only a global network can deliver.”

“We understand the strategic importance of achieving true and global convergence in acceptance, security and simplicity across all channels, including digital,” said Javier Herraiz, global director of innovation in payments at Santander Cards. “MasterPass allows us to offer to our customers, cardholders and merchants an immediate competitive solution for e-commerce, and a great foundation for new in-store experiences. Santander shares MasterCard’s vision of the future of digital payments and a world beyond cash, and we look forward to extending the benefits of MasterPass to additional markets in which we operate, with a global roll-out in the near future.”