MasterCard and mFoundry partner to offer NFC payments within mobile banking apps
Hoping to add more punch to the standard mobile banking app, mFoundry has announced that it will be making MasterCard's NFC feature PayPass available in its financial apps. What that translates to for the mobile banking user is a quick and easy way to pay without having to use an additional service like Google Wallet or whatever Isis has up its sleeve. mFoundry currently provides mobile banking services for more than 560 financial institutions and credit unions including PNC, Bank of America and Citi -- so chances are, if you're using a mobile banking app, it's powered by mFoundry. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the extremely limited amount of NFC phones that can actually support the feature. Perhaps having the option within a standard banking app will help the trend take off -- at least amongst those with NFC phones.
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MasterCard and mFoundry Partner To Offer Banks and Credit Unions More Mobile Payment Options
Strategic investment will make mobile payments accessible to more consumers
PURCHASE, N.Y., and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – December 1, 2011 – MasterCard (NYSE:MA) and
mFoundry announced today an international collaboration that will take mobile banking another step forward by enabling more banks and credit unions to give their customers the option to pay for items with their mobile phones. In addition to the partnership, MasterCard announced that it has made a strategic investment in mFoundry, further strengthening their collaboration in the emerging field of mobile payments.
The collaboration and investment will combine MasterCard's Tap & Go ™ PayPass technology with mFoundry's mobile financial services platform to make mobile contactless payments accessible to more consumers. Mobile PayPass®, which uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, enables people to make fast, convenient and highly secure payments by simply tapping their NFC phone on any PayPass-enabled terminal at a merchant check-out.
Mobile phones provide the most promising tool for NFC payments, as consumers increasingly use their smartphones for a host of functions, including managing their finances. In the second quarter of 2011, comScore, a research and analysis firm, reported that 32.5 million Americans accessed mobile banking information on their mobile devices, a 21% increase from the fourth quarter of 2010. Almost 14 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers now access banking information through their devices, according to comScore. mFoundry already provides mobile banking solutions for more than 560 banks and credit unions.
MasterCard and mFoundry also will collaborate to provide mobile phone operators an application that supports Mobile PayPass, which will allow them to offer mobile contactless payments to their customers,providing an even greater opportunity to put mobile payments in the hands of consumers.
The collaboration will help open up more options for MasterCard cardholders to take advantage of Mobile PayPass, giving them greater flexibility in choosing how they use their mobile phones for payments. It also will encourage MasterCard's leadership in contactless payments by expanding the technology to more payment providers.
"This collaboration is going to allow more banks, credit unions and mobile phone operators around the world to offer their customers the convenience and security of Mobile PayPass." said Ed McLaughlin,chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. "By using the power of a smartphone, consumers can simply tap and pay for goods and services."
"By working with MasterCard, mFoundry will be able to evolve and expand its financial services
platforms to reach more consumers through new and existing clients," said Drew Sievers, CEO and Co-Founder of mFoundry. "MasterCard shares our philosophy on how to enable its clients with mobile payments and we are thrilled to be working hand-in-hand with them to bring their PayPass solution to our clients."
