MasterCard has been selected by NTT DOCOMO, a Japanese mobile operator, as a partner to expand contactless payments options for consumers in Japan (view press release). The collaboration will connect DOCOMO’s domestic payment network to the world, enabling customers using iD mobile credit payments with compatible DOCOMO smartphones to make contactless payments outside of Japan, anywhere MasterCard’s PayPass is accepted.
“Independent industry growth projections suggest that the global installed base of NFC-ready point-of-sale terminals could grow to 43.4m units in 2017,” said Vicky Bindra, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide. “This signifies the great potential in the contactless payment space. Our collaboration with NTT DOCOMO will open up endless possibilities of new forms of payments and other value-added services, and will help us continue to make contactless payments safer and easier, giving consumers more choices in how to pay.”
The service is expected to launch in first half of the fiscal year 2013. At launch, the service will be available on two new DOCOMO handsets; docomo with series Xperia AX SO-01E and docomo NEXT series AQUOS PHONE ZETA SH-02E.
