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Mastercard debuts PayPass digital wallet

Mastercard has introduced its own PayPass digital wallet service, a mobile payment system designed to make it faster and easier for customers to make purchases in store or online.

American Airlines (AA) and Barnes & Noble are among the first merchant partners to incorporate the PayPass Online checkout button on their e-commerce websites, with AA integrating the wallet into its mobile app.

PayPass Wallet Services will debut in the US, Canada, UK and Australia in the third quarter of 2012, with a further global roll-out planned for 2013.

PayPass Wallet Services includes PayPass Acceptance Network (online and contactless) which allows for electronic payments across multiple channels either online or by using NFC technology.

PayPass Wallet enables banks, merchants and partners to white label their own wallets and consumers to store payment and shipping information. It is open to other branded credit or debit cards including American Express, Discover and Visa.

PayPass API allows partners to connect their own digital wallets into the PayPass Acceptance Network, using Mastercard’s check-out, fraud detection and authentications services and enabling customers to make purchases online or in stores that accept PayPass.

Plans to expand the services to the point-of-sale will happen over time, where consumers can have access to account information, as well as spending controls and alerts, targeted offers, coupons and loyalty programmes.

Mastercard is also encouraging the developer community to create new payment technologies using PayPass, which he hopes will become the ‘app store’ of the payments industry.

“Consumers are looking to pay for goods when, how and where they choose,” says Mastercard chief emerging payments officer Ed McLaughlin. “Merchants want flexibility to easily accept digital payments so they can convert more browsers to buyers both online and in store. We realise 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.”

Vodafone, O2 and PayPal have all recently launched their own mobile payments solution.

Jenni Baker, London