Deutsche Telekom has just announced a partnership with MasterCard to introduce its NFC-powered PayPass digital wallet platform across Europe. This technology is extremely user friendly and as easy to use as 123:
But are the 93 million European consumers embracing NFC?
Last year Visa conducted a survey in Poland, Italy, Turkey, and the UK to precisely answer this question. The results showed that 87 percent of iPhone users would be willing to attach an app on to their smartphones to make payments.
Conversely, Volker Briegleb from Germany’s c’t computer magazine anticipates a slow introduction of NFC technology nationally, especially considering that consumers see no reason to buy NFC-enabled phones if they don’t know where they will be able to use them. And retailers won’t adopt this technology if consumers are not ready for it. In addition, manufacturers might not understand the need to make such phones. Hopefully Deutshe and MasterCard will help European consumers welcome the payment technology.
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.
Mung Ki Woo
Group Executive, Mobile
Mung Ki Woo is group executive, Mobile. In this role, he is responsible for leading the development and commercialization of mobile payment product platforms and solutions around the globe that create a sustainable competitive advantage for MasterCard and its customers.
Mr. Woo joined MasterCard in early 2011. Previously, he was vice president, Electronic Payments & Transactions at France Telecom – Orange, one of the largest telecom operators in the world with retail operations in 32 countries. There he led the development of the “Orange Money” mobile payment program, which at the end of 2010 was commercially available in 6 African countries. Mr. Woo was also responsible for commercial deployment of Orange’s mobile contactless services in their major European markets.
Prior to joining FT-Orange, Mr. Woo was chief technical officer of a French interbank organization specialized in electronic money systems. Before that, he managed a consulting practice at a French IT firm (Devoteam). He started his career at Thales working on large defense communication programs for the UK armed forces.
Mr. Woo is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom ParisTech.
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