MasterPass Begins Global Expansion with U.K. Debut (Aug. 1, 2013)
Aug. 1, 2013
MasterCard is bringing its MasterPass digital wallet to the U.K., with several major retailers onboard as launch partners. The cloud-based service, available since earlier this year in the U.S., Canada and Australia, enables consumers to store payment and loyalty card information, along with shipping and billing address details, and make purchases online or in-store; online purchases require a click, while in-store payments can be made using NFC technology or QR codes at the POS.
MasterPass U.K. launch partners include retailers Argos, Boots UK, House of Fraser, The Hut Group and seetickets.com. The rollout comes as e-commerce continues its rapid growth spike in the U.K. In May 2013, e-commerce sales increased by 12 percent over the previous year, compared to 3 percent year-over-year growth in traditional retail sales. Overall, U.K. consumers spend more than £62 billion (US$94.4 billion) online, according to online retail researcher IMRG. But there is plenty of room for further growth; up to 37 percent of all online transactions in the first quarter of 2013 were abandoned at checkout by shoppers who didn’t want to enter all the required data, and MasterPass’s one-click simplicity can help reduce such online shopping cart abandonment, according to MasterCard.
The U.K. launch is just another step in the global expansion of MasterPass. MasterCard plans to bring the system to the rest of Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East through 2013 and 2014, while continuing to add retail partners in its existing markets.
