MasterCard launches PayPass Contactless on a Mobile Phone in Australia

MasterCard Worldwide has announced the launch of Australia's first trial of PayPass on a mobile phone at this year's MasterCard Masters golf tournament.

In conjunction with Commonwealth Bank, the mobile trial will also include free giveaway of 3,000 PayPass cards by Commonwealth Bank. Each card will be loaded with $25 and can be used at any of the retailers at the MasterCard Masters, which have been set up with contactless readers.

"Contactless payments technology is already extremely popular with consumers around the globe. The mobile phone trial and free PayPass card giveaways at the Masters will give Australians the chance to use this innovative next generation payment technology now," says Leigh Clapham, EVP, Australasia, MasterCard Worldwide.

The mobile phone trial of PayPass in Australia draws on MasterCard's success in rolling out PayPass globally, with over 20m PayPass cards and devices in use at over 80,000 merchants worldwide.

"MasterCard also announced the launch of PayPass in mobile phones in Japan last week, which follows a successful launch of the technology in Taiwan earlier this year, in addition to the US and Korea," continues Clapham. "For retailers, contactless technology reduces queues and increases the speed of transactions. For customers this means more convenience, providing them with a faster alternative to cash which is ideal for payment of small-ticket items.”