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Digital wallet from MasterCard aims for ubiquity

Friday, May 11, 2012 - 15:55 by Mike Price

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The PayPass service from MasterCard, which is essentially a digital wallet that harnesses NFC (near field communication) technology, is set to be integrated into both in-store and online shopping, according to TechWorld.

The payment card giant made announcements about the arrival of its digital wallet service, ahead of the CTIA Wireless conference in the US, outlining how customers will be able to use PayPass during safe shopping online, from either a standard PC or a smartphone.

NFC is becoming an increasingly common capability of smartphones, with BlackBerry and Android devices adopting it in order to make contactless payments possible in shops across the world.

MasterCard said that it is joining forces with Intel in order to build laptops that will have built-in NFC connectivity. This will mean that while a user is indulging in a spot of e-commerce, they will be able to tap their compatible payment card or smartphone against their computer and purchase a product or a service, without having to go through the hassle of entering endless details.

PayPass Wallet will be able to store the details of up to 25 different payment cards. Users who harness it during safe shopping online will then be able to pick which of the cards they want to use, subsequently being able to select a shipping address, which is also stored via the service.

While MasterCard is not the only company that is pursuing this type of payment option, it is being far more open with its system than the likes of Visa, according to analysts at Gartner. Third parties will be able to integrate the service into sites and other setups, applying their own branding, while retaining the same core infrastructure that is controlled by MasterCard, which will make it far more adaptable.