Digital payment solution MasterPass debuts in Italy

MasterCard has launched its digital payment solution MasterPass in Italy. The Southern European country is one of the first in Europe where this solution is launched, as it’s now only active in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. But more European countries will follow soon.

MasterCard’s aim with MasterPass is to make online purchasing faster, simple and more secure than before. With MasterPass, consumers have their name, card and shipping details stored when they sign up for the service, so they no longer need to enter them at the checkout of an online store. They just click or tap on the “Buy with MasterPass” button and enter their password to complete the payment.

Rise in mobile shopping in Italy
According to MasterCard, this kind of simplicity is fundamental to the growth of ecommerce, which is “now a well-established phenomenon with 3.7 million Italians making at least ten online purchases a year and a rise in online shopping using mobile devices like smartphones (11%) and tablets (10%).”

At the moment, MasterPass is available to customers of Banca Generali, BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas and BPM, but shortly it will also be available to customers of other major banks in Italy. Given the fact MasterPass is available to consumers through their banks, it guarantees the highest possible standards of security and privacy, MasterCard says.

Quick and simple shopping service is advantage for consumers and retailers
With MasterPass, card abandon rates can be reduced, the company thinks. “And with more than 1.9 billion MasterCard cardholders world-wide, Italian retailers will also gain access to a huge number of potential customers. And there are customers enough, now Italy is also moving away from the idea of general ecommerce towards a multichannel concept. “We’re seeing a sharp rise in the number of multi-channel consumers, now standing at 9.7 million. This is now the largest consumer sector, with significant year-on-year growth of 28%, confirming how ordinary users are maturing and migrating towards the more advanced cluster by a natural process of evolution. A service providing a quicker, simpler shopping experience from all devices is a real advantage for consumers and retailers alike”, says Guiliano Noci, Professor of Marketing at the Politecnico di Milano.

Paolo Battiston, Division Prisdent Italy & Greece at MasterCard, says the technology revolution they’re living in his country means that any connected device is becoming a shopping device. With MasterPass consumers can make online and mobile payments. More than 3,500 Italian retailers have enrolled for this payment solution. Additional services, including real-time alerts, bank balances and purchase records, as well as offers and discounts will be provided in the future. MasterPass will also support emerging technologies for in-store shopping, based on the purchasing experiences retailers wish to offer their customers.