MasterCard introduced Mobile Payments Gateway, a mobile payments processing platform, in Brazil on November 16.
The service gives consumers the ability to use their phones as payment devices and link their existing credit, debit or prepaid MasterCard accounts to fund mobile payments. Consumers can use the service to make purchases, send and receive money, transfer funds between accounts, pay bills, deposit funds such as payroll or social benefits, get cash from ATMs and keep track of their balances and activities with mobile alerts.
The service is available in Brazil through Itau Unibanco and Redecard, along with mobile network operator Vivo. Following the launch in Brazil, MasterCard will introduce the mobile payment program to select markets around the world.
The idea is to reach consumers with and without bank accounts, said Pat Killian, VP of product strategic alliances at MasterCard Worldwide
“Brazil is an interesting market, because it is a good representation of both a banked environment and an unbanked environment,” added Killian.
MasterCard is working with Smart Hub, a subsidiary of Philippines-based Smart Communications, to power the infrastructure of the mobile payments platform.
