MasterCard Unveils MasterPass for ‘Simple’ Shopping Experience (Feb. 25, 2013)
Feb. 25, 2013
MasterCard Inc. today unveiled MasterPass, a cloud-based service that builds on its PayPass Wallet Services by eliminating the need for consumers to enter card or shipping details with each purchase and adding new tools to enhance online, mobile and in-store shopping. MasterPass will roll out through banks in Canada and Australia beginning in March, followed by the U.S. later this spring and the U.K. this summer, with other global markets following later this year, MasterCard announced at the Mobile World Congress. Consumers may store various payment cards and other details in a MasterPass-connected wallet, creating “one simple experience” for making purchases, while also streamlining processes for merchants, said Ed McLaughlin, MasterCard’s chief emerging payments officer. For merchants, the MasterPass checkout service provides “a consistent way to accept electronic payments” online or at the point of sale, and includes support for NFC, barcodes and mobile devices, according to MasterCard. American Airlines, Runningshoes.com and Vodafone Italy are among participating merchants; Fifth Third Bank, Bank of Montreal and Banco Santander, among other banks, have also signed on.
While MasterPass echoes many of the services Visa Inc. plans to offer with V.me by Visa, MasterPass is set up initially to be closely integrated with mobile banking, with immediate access for online and POS purchases, which “should help drive usage,” Beth Robertson, director of payments research with Javelin Strategy & Research, tells Paybefore. While all the major card networks, including American Express and Discover are working toward offering similarly rich digital services, Robertson says, MasterCard initially is promoting merchant-specific features that could help create incentives for consumer and merchant adoption.
