Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo and MasterCard Worldwide have formed a global business alliance for contactless payments via compliant Docomo smartphones. Aiming at a launch in the first half of the fiscal year ending in March 2014, the companies will expand Docomo's iD mobile credit payment system for acceptance at MasterCard PayPass merchant locations around the world. MasterCard's payment system, MasterCard PayPass, will be available to Docomo customers using smartphones equipped with a contactless chip for Osaifu Keitai (mobile phones with wallet functions) services via NFC. Through joint collaboration between Docomo and MasterCard, Docomo customers will be able to make iD-brand payments at nearly 500,000 MasterCard PayPass merchant locations in 41 countries (as of June), in addition to over 560,000 iD terminals in Japan (as of August).
