Banking group Absa has launched MasterCard’s MasterPass smartphone application in South Africa, allowing customers to use their mobile phones to make payments at the point of sale and on the Internet.
Branded Absa MasterPass, the digital wallet “transforms the physical payment card into a digital payment tool”, the bank said in a statement. Absa clients can use the app wherever MasterPass is accepted without needing to carry their bank cards with them.
“The Absa MasterPass App gives people the power to make online purchases using the digital wallet on their smartphones, without needing to carry their bank cards with them. Absa customers will also soon be able to do in-store shopping using Absa MasterPass, with a variety of merchants presently being signed up,” it said.
Consumers can store all their MasterCard or other branded credit, debit or cheque card information, along with shipping and billing address details, securely in the MasterPass digital wallet, the bank said.
“This gives them the ability to make secure payments wherever they see the MasterPass logo, without the hassle of entering these details each time they purchase an item using their MasterPass digital wallet.”
MasterCard launched the digital payment service in South Africa in July 2014. Today, MasterPass is accepted at more than 270 000 merchants worldwide, including a wide range of South African merchants such as Vodacom, Forever Resorts, Lancet Labs, Lottostar, South African Airways and Takealot.
The app can be downloaded from the Play Store and the App Store.
“Anyone can use the Absa MasterPass App — even non-Absa cardholders,” the banks said. “MasterPass also accepts selected Pin-based debit cards such as Maestro, enabling millions of South Africans to make secure online purchases using their Pin-based debit cards.”
To pay, consumers open the Absa MasterPass App on their mobile device and scan the QR code on the website. Then they select the card they wish to use, enter their bank Pin number on their own device, and the transaction is complete. — © 2016 NewsCentral Media
