MasterCard unveils new mobile payments venture in Japan
Mobile payments are attracting strong interest in Japan. Consumers in the country appear to be very open to the idea of mobile commerce and have shown comfort with shopping online via their mobile devices. Indeed, the demand for mobile commerce services in Japan is on the rise and MasterCard is looking to answer the call. MasterCard has teamed with C-SAM and DNP in order to launch a new mobile payments platform that is based on NFC technology.
White label platform may be a benefit for consumers and merchants
Most mobile commerce services rely on NFC technology in order to function. The technology allows digital information to be transmitted over short distances and has become the backbone of mobile payments in general. While there are an abundance of NFC-based mobile wallets available to consumers today, MasterCard is keen to launch a white label platform that could offer a rewarding experience to consumers and merchants alike.
Merchants to offer special deals to consumers through new platform
The platform will make use of technology developed by C-SAM and will be based on MasterCard’s PayPass mobile payments solution. DNP will offer scalability to the mobile wallet in order to make it more attractive to merchants. Merchants and retailers will be able to make use of the platform in order to official special deals to consumers. These deals will be tailored to a consumer’s particular interests based on past purchases.
Mobile payments prove lucrative in Japan
Mobile commerce has been finding significant success in Japan and the country is often considered one of the most attractive markets for new mobile payments systems. MasterCard is only one among several companies that have shown significant interest in Japanese mobile commerce. The company already boasts of a strong presence within the Japanese commerce scene, but its mobile influence is still relatively low. Given the rarity of NFC-enabled devices, which are necessary for participation in most mobile commerce services, MasterCard may find modest growth in the mobile sector with its latest venture.
