MasterCard bids to bring ‘peace of mind’ to travellers
MWC 2014: MasterCard has partnered cloud-based mobility solutions company Syniverse to create a service that allows customers to geographically link their credit cards to their smartphones to prevent their cards being blocked when they attempt to make payments abroad.
The two companies are also trialling additional opt-in services such as the option to buy pre-paid data packages they can use as soon as they arrive in their destination country, to help prevent excessive roaming charges.
It is also understood the pair are exploring the ability to place transport tickets directly into smartphones in certain countries to prevent the need to queue when they arrive at the airport in certain destination countries. In the future the companies are also looking to open up the partnership to mobile operators in order to target offers to consumers’ phones across the world, in a similar way to what Weve currently offers in the UK.
Syniverse currently operates across nearly 200 territories, giving MasterCard geolocation access to millions of consumers who have opted in to services from their mobile networks across the world.
The news of the collaboration was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today (25 February) .
Hany Fam, MasterCard president of global strategic alliances, said: “This collaboration of two global technology leaders opens up a whole new range of possibilities for our end users, ensuring a seamless payment and mobile experience. By leveraging the speed and intelligence of our global network and providing it with geolocation solutions, we are enabling your MasterCard to uniquely work where you and your phone are, anywhere in the world.”
The Syniverse news comes a day after MasterCard announced the launch of MasterPass, allowing customers to make quick and secure in-app purchases. The launch is an extension to the current browser based MasterPass facility and will be made available to brands and app developers in the second quarter of this year.
