MasterCard takes contactless to next level

Dubai: MasterCard has introduced their latest contactless payment to the UAE market initiative. MasterPass seeks to further re-invent the way people pay for their everyday purchases in-store and online.

Not too long ago, the company launched PayPass, a contactless payment platform that lets users tap their smartphone, credit or debit card, watches or wrist bands on a machine reader to make payments. This eliminates the need to use PIN or manually swipe a card at the checkout counter.

MasterCard has taken a step further to enable consumers to use not just their mobile device, but also their tablet or laptop to speed through checkout lines, or shop for goods and services while they are at home or on the go.

A customer waiting in line at a crowded coffee shop, for example, can save time by placing an order in advance through MasterPass on his mobile phone. “We’ve used the digital technology to obliterate the queue,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard,

Speaking at the Cards and Payments Middle East summit on Tuesday, McLaughlin said this digital wallet service makes payment transactions more convenient, as it works with all payment cards, be they Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

“When you go shopping online using the handset, I just select the good I want and when I pay for it, rather than having to enter all the information in the small keypad, my shipping address and my card information, I can simply touch the MasterPass button on the screen,” he explained.

“What [the technology] does is securely connect the consumer to the financial institution they have chosen to use. So when I’m in Canada, for example, and I’m using Bank of Montreal, or Citibank or HSBC, with MasterPass, I can instantly and digitally connect to the exact same account, the same credentials I would have used with my card, the same credentials I might have tapped to buy a cup of coffee, but now I can use it to purchase online,” he added.