Amex, Discover, Mastercard And Visa Take Click to Pay Global

American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa have agreed on the global expansion of touch-free purchases across merchants and platforms.

Click to Pay, the online checkout based on Secure Remote Commerce (SRC), features one-click buying convenience when shoppers are making a purchase on a website, mobile app or any other digital channel with the four giant financial institutions (FIs).

Launched last fall in the U.S., the expansion will now reach Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, with more to come.

The “big four” said the advanced digital checkout solution is similar to checkout in brick-and mortar stores, where one terminal accepts all card payments. The idea of Click to Pay, the firms said, is to provide consumers with a fast, streamlined experience across digital checkout networks. It is designed to make online checkout simple and secure without the need to enter account numbers and information at checkout, they added.

Since its inception, more than 10,000 merchants have signed on, including Cinemark, Crate & Barrel, Expedia, Fresh Direct, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, Joseph A. Bank, the marketplace division of Rakuten U.S., Saks Fifth Avenue and Shop.com, among others.

For sellers, the checkout option is intended to reduce friction during the process of purchasing goods and services. Merchants can now get access to a single virtual terminal for multiple card brands for a smooth digital checkout experience, the companies said.

“Right now, more than ever, demand for fresh food and grocery delivery is at an all-time high, with many new customers trying FreshDirect for the first time,” said Tammy Berentson, chief marketing officer of FreshDirect, the New York City-based online grocer, in a statement. “For these new customers, as well as for our loyal following, Click to Pay offers confidence that their transactions will be simple, efficient and secure.”

Last month, Jess Turner, executive vice president of products and innovation for Mastercard, and Radha Suvarna, head of digital payments and lending for the Citi U.S. Consumer Bank, told PYMNTS that the firms are collaborating to use Click to Pay.

“Click to Pay had been essential even before COVID-19, but what COVID-19 has done is really highlighted a new need for safer and faster ways to pay digitally,” Turner said.