MasterCard Worldwide launched a beta version of its developer’s portal early last month, but the card brand has invited only about 1,000 programmers to participate, a MasterCard spokesperson said Feb. 10.
Today, developers can get access to MasterCard’s payment network and code for creating discounts for MasterCard use. They also get code for locating ATMs and for locating merchants that accept contactless payment.
“This is just the beginning,” Garry Lyons, the head of MasterCard Labs, wrote in a blog post last month. “We will be enhancing the features of the services we’re offering, plus adding many new services over the coming months and years.”
The launch gives MasterCard the beginnings of a complete application-programming interface. This software allows programmers to interact with MasterCard’s infrastructure. Visa Inc. already maintains Authorize.NET, which it acquired last year as part of its purchase of CyberSource Corp.
PayPal Inc., the payments unit of eBay Inc., led the trend by launching its own developer network, PayPal X, in 2009. Through this platform, PayPal has integrated its payment system with services provided by bank vendors S1 Corp. and Fidelity National Information Services Inc., among others.
