MasterCard Sets Pact with Belgian Firm

MasterCard Inc. announced a deal with a Brussels online payment company that would give customers of MasterCard issuers greater access to U.S. and U.K. online merchants.

The Purchase, N.Y., card company's agreement with Borderlinx Europe SA would allow international cardholders to use MasterCard-branded cards to shop on retail websites based in the U.S. and the U.K. that do not typically ship products to other countries.

Borderlinx's system creates a U.S. or U.K. address for foreign shoppers, then links to shipping services to deliver an order to a foreign address.

"We know that today's consumer is interested in shopping online internationally, but is often discouraged by limitations," Geoff Iddison, an executive in charge of e-commerce and mobile at MasterCard, said in a press release Monday.

"By partnering with Borderlinx we take our role at the heart of commerce to the next level."

MasterCard said on Aug. 19 that it had agreed to buy DataCash Group PLC of the U.K. for $520 million.

Analysts said the acquisition of DataCash, which provides payment gateway services to merchants, could improve the card network's position in online and mobile payments.

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