MasterCard wants to turn everything into a payment device

MasterCard is trying to stay ahead of the FinTech herd by launching a programme that aims to turn any object into a payment device across the automotive, fashion, technology, wearables, and ‘yet to be imagined’ categories.

 

Fashion, cars and jewellery 

The types of people and companies already signed up to the initiative shows what sort of objects we can expect to be turned into payment devices.

Fashion designer Adam Selman, automaker General Motors, wearable technology innovator Nymi, smart jewelry company Ringly, and Bluetooth locator TrackR are among the prominent consumer brands enabling their products through the programme.

MasterCard will be showcasing exclusive designs from Adam Selman and prototypes from GM (key fob), Nymi (wristband) and Ringly (ring), will be on display at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas this week and are showcased in the video below?

 

The Internet of Things

The payments giant also mentions the rise of the Internet of Things and says this programme is its way of laying the foundations for it.

The program is an extension of the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) and the Digital Enablement Express (Express) program, and brings to fruition the vision that every device will be a commerce device. Through MDES and Express, any accessory, wearable or device can be payment-enabled and quickly scaled to millions of MasterCard accounts.

 

‘Eliminating boundaries’

“As more and more ‘things’ become connected, consumers will have endless possibilities when it comes to how they pay, and will need all of their devices to work seamlessly together. This program eliminates the boundaries of how we pay by delivering a secure digital payment experience to virtually anything – rings, fitness and smart bands, car key fobs, apparel, and whatever comes along next.” said Ed McLaughlin, Chief Emerging Payments Officer at MasterCard.

As part of the program, MasterCard worked with NXP and Qualcomm Incorporated to develop technology.

Capital One is the first issuer to embrace the program and will leverage Express, enabling them to expand to a whole new category of devices. The Capital One Wallet will authenticate the users to provide strong security for provisioning and managing tokens.

“We created Ringly to keep women connected to the people, messages and notifications that are important to them. Through our partnership with MasterCard, Ringly will not only be able to keep people connected, but will provide another layer to how our customers can use their jewelry while on the go. Our mission is to make women’s lives more manageable through beautiful jewelry and discreet technology,” said Christina Mercando d’Avignon, founder and CEO of Ringly.

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