MasterCard showed off its updated Masterpass mobile wallet at The Barclays golf event this week.
Banks can embed the service to form their own digital wallet, and they won’t even have to pay Apple. There are 17 initial bank partners who supported the enhanced Masterpass, updated as of last month but just now receiving its moment in the sun, including Ally Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, and People’s United Bank.
Ease of use is the entire point behind the enhanced Masterpass, and golf fans will be able to use the service at this year’s PGA Tour at The Barclays on Bethpage Black, an event sponsored by MasterCard, to do things like order beer straight from their seat, while the sad, beer-less masses huddle in line.
The company’s newest innovations in the payments technology space allow golf fans to make their purchases in a snap (oh wait, that’s football. In a…slice? I’m not good at this) so they can actually take the time in today’s busy world to enjoy the sport.
“Last year we brought contactless pay to the PGA tour; this year we are bringing the ‘new’ Masterpass. We try to innovate, and stay ahead of the game,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer, MasterCard, of the technology, “This is not just a wallet, but a complete system.”
While Masterpass was debuted by MasterCard back in 2012, the enhanced system now includes contactless payment, online payment, as well as payment in a mobile app, including your bank app or a retailer app, if one of the 250,000 retailers partnered with Masterpass happen to have it available.
Since its launch in 2012, there are now a total of 80 million Masterpass customers worldwide, according to MasterCard, and the service is available to all of the rest of MasterCard’s 1.5 billion global customers who have yet to try it out. Customers at this year’s PGA Tour event will also be able to try out MasterCard’s Qkr! With Masterpass app, where they can pay for and receive concessions directly to their seat.
“Where this goes beyond [things like] Apple Pay is that you register once and you’re all set; there is no need to enter any of your data when you go into a shop,” said Rajamannar. “Whether it’s in the physical world or the digital space, you’re taken care of.”
MasterCard has been a partner of PGA Tours for longer than 20 years at this point, and MasterCard holders will have the advantage of numerous enhancements, such as Priceless Golf, in addition to the new omnichannel experience of the MasterPass at this year’s event, which begins on August 25. Fore!