UK retailers Boots, Argos, House of Fraser and The Hut Group will be among the first in Europe to offer MasterCard’s new crosschannel payment solution, MasterPass.
The MasterPass digital service enables shoppers to store details of a variety of payment, store and loyalty cards, as well as their shipping and billing address details. That means they can make payments using either a payment card or an enabled device with a single click, tap or touch, online, in-store or in any other location. MBNA will be one of the first issuers of MasterPass cards.
The range of MasterPass services includes checkout services that can be used online and in-store from MasterPass connected wallets. In-store, MasterPass wil work with NFC and QR codes to inform consumers about their payment choices. Retailers, banks and other partners will be able to offer their own MasterPass wallet or connect their own wallets to the MasterPass acceptance network. There will also be a range of value-added services, such as offers, experiences and integration with loyalty programmes.
Marion King, president, UK and Ireland, at MasterCard, said: “For retailers, MasterPass provides a faster, easier way to check out their customers and increase sales without significantly changing the way they currently process payments. MasterPass can help retailers reduce checkout abandonment rates, which affected 37% of all online transactions in the first quarter of 2013, equating to more than £6bn in much needed revenue per year according to IMRG and Capgemini.”
Sarah Jasper, commercial marketing director, The Hut Group, said: “Across each of our retail sites we see innovation in checkout experience having a measurable impact on customer loyalty. MasterPass provides our customers with a faster, more convenient way to shop and helps us attract and retain new customers too.”
MasterPass is already live in the US, Canada and Australia and will launch across Europe and other territories throughout 2013 and 2014.
James Roper, chief executive of IMRG, said: “Customers abandon online shopping baskets at the checkout for a number of reasons, such as lack of convenient delivery options or security certification, hidden charges, length of checkout process, or just because they are still browsing and want to ensure the price is complete with no ‘add-ons’. Digital wallets represent a major step forward in bringing down basket abandonment by offering the customer greatly enhanced speed, convenience, trust and certainty.”