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.
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.
Below: Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann and MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga share the stage for a video update to introduce the new partnership.
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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