MasterPass Enters Belgium With Help Of Buy Way

On its quest to conquer the digital world, MasterCard announced yesterday (June 10) the launch of MasterPass in Belgium, a digital platform which will be implemented by Buy Way, a credit on the point of sale. Buy Way’s 585,000 customers can now activate their MasterPass wallet through their home banking.

“This new digital platform puts an end to the constant fidgeting with your wallet and integrates all cards and bonuses in one place,” said Valerie Nowak, country manager of MasterCard Belux.

MasterPass is all about taking the friction out of daily payments and reducing them to a simple click, tap or touch for purchases online via computer, smartphone or tablet. Each MasterPass stores the cardholder’s payment and shipping information, including loyalty cards, in one secure place, making shopping at thousands of online merchants faster and more convenient. And the digital wallet is not restricted to Buy Way clients nor to MasterCard users. Anyone can create a Buy Way MasterPass wallet, choosing Belgium as their country, or through merchant websites accepting MasterPass including AS Adventure, De Persgroep, New Pharma, Fleurop, Farmaline, and Connections Webshop.

The launch of MasterPass confirms an ongoing trend wherein every connected device becomes a medium for payments: the computer, the tablet, the smartphone, but also the home television or game console. Consumers are, however, faced with a very wide range of apps and payment cards, turning a payment into a complex process. So will MasterPass win the race? We won’t know until Apple Pay actually enters the European market. BGR noted that KBC Bank in Belgium said on Twitter in response to a customer inquiry that Apple Pay could debut in Belgium this summer. Since then, however, it was confirmed that Apple Pay had a change of heart and would launch in the U.K. in July. Could it be that Belgium was too small for the two giants to launch their babies?

Australia was the first market to launch MasterPass in February 2013. At the end of May of this year, the digital payment device was spread to 17 countries, reaching a quarter of a million merchants. In the U.S., MasterCard has already this month announced that ProPay users have now access to MasterPass and that Wayfair.com customers will be able to use the spreading-like-butter digital wallet by this fall.

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