The Prepaid Press - MasterCard Launches PayPass Wallet Services

06/19/2013

MasterCard Launches PayPass Wallet Services

Enables Merchants, Banks, Partners to Offer Digital Payments

NEW ORLEANS, LA (May 7, 2012) MasterCard (NYSE:MA) has launched PayPass Wallet Services, a new global offering for banks, merchants and partners that MasterCard says will make it faster and easier for their customers to make purchases in stores or online by allowing them to securely pay with a click of the mouse, touch of the tablet screen or tap of the smartphone.

PayPass Wallet Services delivers three distinct components -- PayPass Acceptance Network (PayPass Online and PayPass Contactless), PayPass Wallet and PayPass API. These services, according to the company, enable a consistent shopping experience no matter where and how consumers shop, as well as a suite of digital wallet services, and developer tools to make it easier to connect other wallets into the PayPass Online acceptance network.

American Airlines and Barnes & Noble will be among the first merchant partners to incorporate the PayPass Online checkout button on their websites, and American will integrate PayPass Wallet into its mobile application.

"Consumers are looking to pay for goods when, how and where they choose. Merchants want flexibility to easily accept digital payments so they can convert more browsers to buyers both online and in store," said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. "We realize that when it comes to payments, no single wallet will rule them all. PayPass Wallet Services simplifies the shopping experience while providing flexibility and choice to merchants, banks and consumers."

PayPass Wallet Services includes:

• PayPass Acceptance Network (PayPass Online and PayPass Contactless) - Provides a globally consistent way to help merchants accept electronic payments across multiple channels whether the purchase is made in a store at the point of sale with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology or online using a computer, tablet or smartphone. PayPass Online also provides consumers with a simple check-out process by eliminating the need to enter detailed shipping and card information with every purchase.
• PayPass Wallet - A full suite of digital wallet solutions enabling banks, merchants and partners to white label their own wallets. It allows online consumers to store payment and shipping information in one place. The wallet is open, which means that consumers can use American Express, Discover, Visa and other branded credit, debit and prepaid cards.
• PayPass API - Allows partners to connect their own digital wallets into the PayPass Acceptance Network, leveraging MasterCard's check-out, fraud detection and authentication services and enabling their customers to make purchases wherever PayPass is accepted - online and in store.

MasterCard will make PayPass Wallet Services available to partners in the third quarter of 2012, initially in the US, Canada, UK and Australia and, subsequently, will include other countries. PayPass Wallet Services will be expanded to the point of sale over time to create an end-to-end shopping experience for consumers providing additional value-added services such as: at-a-glance account information before making a purchase; spending controls and alerts received in real time; and delivery of targeted offers, coupons and enhanced loyalty programs.

"At American Airlines, we're passionate about giving our customers more flexibility and functionality on their mobile devices," said Richard Elieson, managing director, Interactive Marketing at American Airlines. "By integrating PayPass into our mobile app, payment transactions become fast and easy and provide the security you would expect from a brand like MasterCard."

"Consumers are at a pivotal point now where smartphone adoption has exploded and well over 50 percent of Americans now own one," said Marc Parrish, vice president of retention and loyalty marketing for Barnes & Noble.com. "The technology that will allow customers to make mobile payments at the point of sale has already begun to make a difference, and Barnes & Noble is proud to be leading retail in this technology shift."

Source: MasterCard