MasterCard Canada Trials NFC-enabled Mobile Payments

The four-month trial is the next major step in bringing contactless payments via mobile phones to the Canadian market.

During the closed trial, PayPass enabled phones will be used to make secure purchases at any merchant location in Canada that accepts MasterCard PayPass. The technology enables a secure, fast transaction whenever the phone is "tapped" against a PayPass enabled point-of-sale payment terminal. MasterCard will be testing secure over-the-air (OTA) provisioning of payment card credentials and the security of transactions made using mobile phones.

"MasterCard is leading the transformation of mobile phones into secure contactless payment devices with numerous PayPass-enabled phone trials and rollouts underway in regions around the world," said Nagesh Devata, Acceptance Development and New Products, MasterCard Canada. "One of the benefits of this technology is that little if anything must be done by the consumer to use their mobile phone as a payment device. We expect this initiative to have a significant impact on the way services are paid for at the point of sale in the future."

"This is an important step in the progression of mobile commerce in Canada," said Almis Ledas, VP Corporate Development, Bell Mobility. "We will be using this trial to validate the technology's ability to meet Canadians' high expectations for security, simplicity and convenience and will share our findings through our existing partnership with the other wireless carriers."

How it Works

The PayPass payment application is stored inside the NFC-capable mobile phone's built-in "secure area". Users have individual control of the payment application in the phone's secure area. The PayPass payment application on these phones can also be password protected so that a lost or stolen handset cannot be used to make payments.

Whether consumers are using a PayPass enabled mobile phone or credit card, they enjoy the same protections from fraud with PayPass as they would with conventional MasterCard payments. PayPass is supported by robust, multi-level security protections including the encryption of PayPass RF transaction transmission and the multiple security protections of the MasterCard payment system.

According to a 2007 survey, nearly nine in ten Canadians (88%) are very interested in a payment method that would cut the time it takes to complete transactions.