Motorola announced that it will conduct a field trial of mobile phones
enabled with MasterCard PayPass, a new 'contactless' payment option and Near
Field Communications (NFC) technology. Consumers will enjoy the benefits of
simpler and faster transactions conducted with their mobile phones.
"Motorola is excited to be working with MasterCard to create a phone
that has the potential to be lifestyle changing, and offers a convenient, fast,
and secure method of payment. In essence your phone will become your wallet, key
chain and your ID," said Ron Hamma, VP and Director of Enterprise Business
Development, Motorola, Inc. "Fully integrating MasterCard PayPass
technology in our phones is a natural fit and major benefit to the
consumer."
The handsets will incorporate a number of security features to protect
financial data and to ensure consumers a secure financial transaction.
"Consumers continue to want more convenience in their everyday life,"
said Art Kranzley, Executive VP and Chief e-Business Officer, MasterCard
International. "Combining MasterCard PayPass payment functionality with
Motorola mobile phones offers consumers a unique way to pay using something they
carry wherever they go - their mobile phone."
"In fact, recent MasterCard consumer research showed that consumers who
found contactless payments to be extremely appealing, selected mobile phones,
based on convenience and uniqueness, as a form factor of choice to be enhanced
with PayPass," added Kranzley.
The Motorola phones will be equipped with NFC technology, which enables the
device to run multiple proximity applications as well as payment. In the future,
these may include applications such as contactless ticketing for mass transit or
events. In addition, the phone can function as a contactless reader, paving the
way for a variety of marketing and promotional applications. Applications can be
loaded into the secure area of the phone ´over the air,´ offering potential
operational savings to card issuing financial institutions, as well as revenue
opportunities to wireless network operators.
The Motorola phones enabled with MasterCard PayPass technology are expected
to be trialed by the end of this year in a variety of locations in the USA.
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