At a press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona led by its global head of mobile Mung Ki Woo, MasterCard and mobile partners Comviva, Intel, iZettle, Santander, and Turkcell described a vision for the future of mobile payments—reaching the next billion consumers through the mobile channel. This vision would be fueled by collaboration and innovation in a collective effort by all the players in the ecosystem. As a step in that direction, MasterCard called attention to several new mobile partnerships and initiatives from around the globe, including:

•    The unveiling of Wanda, a joint venture between Telefonica and MasterCard—a new corporate and consumer brand designed to provide mobile payment solutions to over 87 million Movistar customers in its Latin American markets. These mobile payment services will be linked to a mobile wallet or prepaid account that will allow for money transfers, mobile airtime reload, bill payment, and retail purchases, among other services. The mobile wallet and prepaid accounts will be available anytime, anywhere in the world.

•    A partnership with BOKU Inc. that will enhance the shopping experience for consumers, allowing them to make payments, receive discounts and targeted offers, and monitor spending—all via their mobile phones anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Offered through a mobile subscriber’s mobile network operator, BOKU Accounts with MasterCard Prepaid gives consumers a convenient way to pay while on the go.

•    The new MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program, launched with its initial partners Comviva, Sybase 365, and Utiba, designed to help more than 2.5 billion financially-underserved consumers worldwide gain access to formal financial services through their mobile phones.

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[This article was posted on March 13, 2012, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com.]   

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