MasterCard has launched its digital wallet services – MasterPass – in South Africa, the first market in Africa and the Middle East to receive the technology.
Digital wallets accessible through the MasterPass network allow consumers to store all their MasterCard or other branded credit, debit or cheque card information, and shipping and billing address details securely in one place. This gives them the ability to make secure online payments without the repeated hassle of entering these details each time.
For retailers, MasterPass provides a more secure, faster and easier way to checkout their customers.
“Checkout happens with just a few clicks or taps whether at home, in a taxi, at work or at a supermarket, so merchants can look forward to fewer customers abandoning their shopping carts, which according to research affects over 67% of online purchases,” says Mark Hearne, MasterCard South Africa’s head of business development.
As MasterPass evolves, it will also enable in-app and in-store purchases, based on the shopping experiences a merchant wants to make available to its customers.
Standard Bank is the first local bank to offer a digital wallet powered by MasterPass via the Standard Bank MasterPass app. The free app is available for download from the Apple, Android or BlackBerry app stores.
“Standard Bank is excited to be pushing the frontiers of the payments technology landscape, in partnership with MasterCard, enabling merchant partners to provide slicker payment options to the market. In so doing, we hope to further galvanise the rapid rise we have seen in e-commerce in South Africa recently and create the platform for future growth in the payments industry,” says Chris Sweeney, group head of Cards for the Standard Bank Group.
“Soon, any South African bank and their merchant partners can offer MasterPass, which can be branded and personalised, as long as they are equipped with the appropriate payment infrastructure,” he adds. “This means that MasterPass can be tailored for online payments and in-store purchases in a manner that builds brand familiarity, affinity and loyalty."
“As consumers become more accustomed to online shopping and the benefits of electronic payments, they want simpler and more secure shopping experiences and payment solutions,” says says Mark Hearne, MasterCard South Africa’s head of business development. “The convergence of technology and digital payments in MasterPass turns any connected device, at any location, into a payment device.”
SAA is among the first merchants to accept MasterPass as a payment method at checkout, with additional merchants going live soon.
SA users can shop internationally at the over 40 000 online merchants around the world that accept MasterPass, as long as their loaded payment cards comply with international standards. This applies to most SA cheque and credit cards.
Anyone can use the Standard Bank MasterPass app – even non-Standard Bank cardholders. MasterPass also accepts selected PIN-based debit cards such as Maestro.
Launched in 2013, MasterPass is available in nine other countries including the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Singapore, China and Poland.
