Deutsche Telekom has chosen MasterCard’s NFC-powered PayPass digital wallet platform to deliver mobile payment access to its 93 million European customers.
The partnership will kick off in Poland, where MasterCard Group Executive Mung-Ki Woo says PayPass’ market penetration is “quite significant” among merchants. The two companies will formulate an official launch strategy for Poland over the next few months, Woo says, followed by entry into the German payments market. (Igniting in Germany will be more challenging, Woo says, because only about one percent of merchants there accept PayPass.)
Then there’s the obvious question: is this sort of partnership something that MasterCard might duplicate in the near future? “Absolutely,” says Woo “” and that’s not restricted to telcos, either. Woo says MasterCard’s stated strategy is to partner with every company in the space it can, including retailers and mobile providers.
Listen to the full interview with MasterCard Group Executive Mung-Ki Woo for more information on the rollout; on the PayPass payment form factor; and on the technical details of Deustche Telekom’s role in the platform.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More