Motorola to launch trial of handsets with MasterCard PayPass technology

Motorola has just announced that it will conduct a field trial of mobile phones enabled with MasterCard® PayPass™,
a new “contactless” payment option and Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. Consumers will enjoy the benefits of simpler and faster transactions conducted with their mobile phones.

“Motorola is excited to be working with MasterCard to create a phone that has the potential to be lifestyle changing, and offers a convenient, fast, and secure method of payment. In essence your phone will become your wallet, key chain and your ID,” said Ron Hamma of Motorola. “Fully integrating MasterCard PayPass technology in our phones is a natural fit and major benefit to the consumer.”

The handsets will incorporate a number of security features to protect financial data and to ensure consumers a secure financial transaction.

“Consumers continue to want more convenience in their everyday life,” said Art Kranzley, executive vice president of MasterCard International. “Combining MasterCard PayPass payment functionality with Motorola mobile phones offers consumers a unique way to pay using something they carry wherever they go—their mobile phone.”

“In fact, recent MasterCard consumer research showed that consumers who found contactless payments to be extremely appealing, selected mobile phones, based on convenience and uniqueness, as a form factor of choice to be enhanced with PayPass,” added Kranzley.

The Motorola phones will be equipped with NFC technology, which enables the device to run multiple proximity applications as well as payment. In the future, these may include applications such as contactless ticketing for mass transit or events. In addition, the phone can function as a contactless reader, paving the way for a variety of marketing and promotional applications. Applications can be loaded into the secure area of the phone ‘over the air,’ offering potential operational savings to card issuing financial institutions, as well as revenue opportunities to wireless network operators.

The Motorola phones enabled with MasterCard PayPass technology are expected to be trialed by the end of this year in a variety of locations in the U.S.

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