MasterCard and UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere have announced an exclusive, five-year partnership to develop mobile and digital payment products for Everything Everywhere's 27 million UK customers. This new strategic partnership will support the accelerated adoption of mobile payments by combining technology and financial assets to create new services that will make paying for goods and services easier for people and small businesses.
One of the first products to launch through the partnership will be a co-branded pre-paid product for mobile devices that allows customers to make payments using Near Field Communications technology. This will enable millions of Everything Everywhere customers to make contactless payments at more than 100,000 retailers in the UK.
Over the course of the partnership, MasterCard and Everything Everywhere will expand its scope into other areas, including person-to-person money transfers, loyalty rewards and digital payment services that will enable consumers to have the same simple shopping experience whether they're paying in-store, online or using their mobile device. In addition, the two companies will develop services that allow small business customers to accept payments using mobile devices, with more details to be announced later this year.
MasterCard and Everything Everywhere have already been working together successfully for the last three years on Orange QuickTap, a NFC-enabled payments service in the UK, and the Orange Cash pre-paid card, both delivered in 2011.
