In a move that MasterCard Worldwide says is helping to pave the way for contactless mobile payments in the U.S., the card company on Oct. 7 announced that 7,000 Subway restaurants will accept PayPass by the end of the first quarter of 2012. Subway follows McDonald’s Corp., which began taking PayPass in 2004 at its U.S. locations.
“This is the beginning of mobile payments, that’s the importance of [signing on Subway],” Mario Shiliashki, senior vice president and group head of U.S. emerging payments at MasterCard, tells PaymentsSource. “PayPass is the kernel of contactless mobile payments at the point of sale.”
One analyst says it behooves the card companies to consider contactless cards as a lead-in to mobile payments.
“All of the brands recognize that their key role in the [payments] ecosystem is the transition from cards to phones,” says Todd Ablowitz, president of Double Diamond Group. “That’s where contactless fits.”
MasterCard’s PayPass is also part of Google Wallet, the Near Field Communication technology-based mobile payment scheme Google Inc. launched Sept. 19 (
Subway, Macy’s Inc., American Eagle Outfitters, Walgreen Co., Toys R Us Inc. and Foot Locker Inc. are among the initial participating retailers.
MasterCard has 341,000 PayPass-enabled terminals worldwide, about half of which are in the U.S., Shiliashki says.
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