MasterCard To Launch 1st PayPass NFC Phone In Japan
 MasterCard in collaboration with SoftBank Mobile, Orient, Samsung Electronics, Gemalto and Hitachi, announced plans to launch Japan's NFC-enabled mobile payment platform. The NFC-enabled mobile phone, which is equipped with PayPass, will allow Japanese consumers to make “tap & go” payments via their mobile phones around the world. The programme is the latest in a series of initiatives rolled out over the past 3 years to extend the MasterCard contactless payment feature into new payment arenas globally.
MasterCard has indeed made significant headway in the area of contactless payments, with PayPass currently being trialled or implemented in 20 countries, including Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Canada and US. As of Q3 2007, there are over 19 million PayPass cards and devices in use at over 73,000 merchants worldwide.
“We are excited about the roll-out of PayPass on mobile phones in Japan, a market where new methods of payment are constantly being implemented. We are committed to providing consumers innovative payment solutions, designed to complement their lifestyle needs. We recognise that global interoperability is vital to the success of any payment programme because consumers want to be able to pay as easily when they are travelling overseas as when they are in their home country,” said Paul Harimoto, SVP & Deputy GM, Japan, MasterCard.
As part of the PayPass on mobile phones trial, it will be embedded on an NFC-capable USIM card developed by Gemalto, which can be inserted into a SoftBank Mobile NFC-enabled handset developed by Samsung. This will enable users of Japan's PayPass mobile phones to shop at many retailers around the world by simply tapping the phone against an NFC-enabled wireless reader.
MasterCard has also worked closely with industry players to add its PayPass capability to an NFC-enabled mobile phone. In November 2006, MasterCard partnered with Nokia and 7-Eleven to conduct a consumer trial in Dallas, Texas, marking the 1st market trial of NFC-enabled mobile phones with PayPass capability. Additionally, in February, the launch of PayPass mobile phones in Taiwan in collaboration with Taipei Fubon Bank and Taiwan Mobile was announced.
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