MasterCard Announces PayPass to Become MasterPass: Revamped Service to Include Scan-Based Payments

MasterCard announced an extension to their current PayPass program at this year’s Mobile World Congress, expanding the network to be compatible with any mobile device. PayPass is best known for allowing MasterCard users to tap cards against compatible machines instead of having to enter a PIN, and also allows some limited support for select mobile phones that support Near Field Communication (NFC). MasterPass is the next version of PayPass, allowing for purchasing of items in-store by scanning barcodes directly in a store’s application.

Anyone who has used the Apple Store’s EasyPay system may find this familiar. In November 2011, Apple introduced an iOS-based payment system allowing customers at their stores to scan items they wish to purchase in the store and pay for them through the credit card used in their iTunes accounts. Customers get receipts upon completion of the transaction and can show an Apple Store employee to receive a bag or as a simple proof-of-payment before leaving. The process, while arguably not much faster at the moment than just getting an employee to tap the card against a machine for you, is designed to make it easier for customers to go into a store, purchase items, and exit in a matter of minutes. It also makes it cheaper for Apple to operate the store since they can have less staff monitoring checkouts. Apple’s implementation may not be the first time it has ever been used in a store, but it has been one of the most notable early-entries into the cashier-free payment system in traditional stores.

The introduction of scan payments in MasterPass will extend this function past the relatively small testing bed of Apple Stores to thousands of other stores, assuming they integrate the ability into their own apps. If it has the support it expects, it could be possible to scan and pay for a variety of goods from retailers, but it’s likely to be limited in its scope to places where it is remotely practical. The grocery checkout line, for example, may need to be rethought to make use of MasterPass in its presented form, since there are so many items that would need to be verified when they check you out of the store. MasterPass will be brought to Canada by the end of the month, giving you a chance to check out their mobile wallet before Americans for a change, who will receive it in the spring.