The competition to define the future of digital payments is accelerating as major card networks expand their mobile wallet strategies. Mastercard has introduced MasterPass, a digital wallet platform designed to support online, in-store, and mobile commerce across multiple devices and payment types. By allowing banks and merchants to customize the user experience while supporting cards from competing networks, MasterPass reflects the industry’s growing focus on flexibility, interoperability, and broader consumer adoption in the rapidly evolving mobile payments market.
Mobile World Congress is happening now in Barcelona and the world’s second largest card payment network has announced the latest evolution of its mobile wallet initiatives. MasterCard’s MasterPass is making its debut this spring in Australia and Canada, with further implementations in the second quarter in the United States and the United Kingdom. Mercator Advisory Group’s own Patricia Hewitt provided the following quote for the press release:
“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. MasterPass reflects this modern sensibility of agnostic-based design but leverages the muscle that only a global network can deliver,” said Patricia Hewitt, Director, Debit Advisory Service, Mercator Advisory Group.
One of the more notable characteristics of the new MasterPass service is the flexibility with which the platform can support mobile wallets as well as online and in-store checkout. Both financial institutions and merchants will be able to brand wallet applications, and branded payment cards of other networks will be supported in addition to MasterCard cards.
Read original release here: http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Banks/124031_MasterCard_Introduces_MasterPass_%E2%80%93_The_Future_of_Digital_Payments/
See related announcement today by Visa on its mobile initiative and read Mercator’s overview : http://www.paymentsjournal.com/Content/Featured_Stories/15357/
