Near Field Communications Handsets and Tags, NFC Pilots and Projects

MasterCard Canada brings PayPass to BlackBerry smart phones

Monday, November 30, 2009

In partnership with BMO Bank of Montreal and Research In Motion, MasterCard Canada is bringing its PayPass Tap & Go contactless payment technology to BlackBerry smart phones for a four-month trial.

In this trial, participants will use PayPass Mobile Tag-equipped BlackBerry devices to make purchases at any of the 8,500 merchant locations in Canada that accept MasterCard PayPass.


The system works through a PayPass Mobile Tag, a self-adhesive device that may be attached to a BlackBerry to add MasterCard PayPass contactless payment capability. The Mobile Tag contains the same chip and antenna found in a regular PayPass card, with the addition of special material to reduce interference between the Mobile Tag and the phone to which it is attached.

BlackBerry’s equipped with PayPass Mobile Tags also offer the unique advantage of automatically receiving confirmation emails of each transaction immediately following the purchase. These paperless receipts include purchase details such as the amount, retailer and date of transaction. [end] 

First Data Corporation and INSIDE Contactless announced the introduction of a new MasterCard PayPass contactless payment tag.

Based on INSIDE’s MicroPass payment platform, the MasterCard PayPass mobile payment tag offers an economical solution for contactless mobile payment. Users simply attach the tag to their mobile phone to give it all the functionality of a traditional credit or debit card.

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The Canadian contactless payments market is set to take off as large stores rapidly adopt the new technology, and smaller merchants threaten to make the jump as well, according to itbusiness.ca.

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AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA are reportedly teaming up to launch a contactless mobile payment pilot in Atlanta and three other cities, according to bloomberg.com.

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MasterCard’s stock dropped 3.6% on the recent announcement Verizon and AT&T are partnering with Discover and Barclays to launch mobile contactless payment services, but the company says it has its own ventures in diversified payments.

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Bank of America will be testing NFC payments enabled through microSD cards, a spokesperson for the bank tells NFCNews.com. The program will begin in September and run through the end of the year in New York.

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BNP Paribas has announced the launch of its Platinum MasterCard PayPass contactless credit card in Egypt, making it the first bank in the country to introduce contactless payment cards.

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