MasterCard has made significant progress in the UK m-payment market by signing a five-year deal to work with giant telco Everything Everywhere to develop a mobile and digital payment system in the UK.
Everything Everywhere is the UK’s largest communications company, providing mobile and fixed-broadband communications services to more than 27 million customers through the Orange and T-Mobile brands.
The partners will initially develop a co-branded pre-paid NFC mobile payments system, enabling Orange and T-Mobile customers to make contactless payments at more than 100,000 UK retailers.
This will be followed by other features, including person-to-person money transfers, loyalty rewards and “digital payment services that will enable consumers to have the same simple shopping experience whether they’re paying in-store, online or using their mobile device”.
The partners will also work on services that allow small business customers to accept payments using mobile devices, although details have yet to be provided.
