PayPass 50 million issued

MasterCard Worldwide announced that in the last year more than doubles the number of cards and devices in circulation around the world.

PayPass is designed to provide a
convenient payment alternative to cash. Consumers just swipe a card
or even sign a receipt when making purchases of $25 or below. They
just need to tap their PayPass-enabled devices on the readers in the
more than 141,000 participating merchant locations worldwide.

The benefits of PayPass to consumers,
merchants and financial institutions are now more visible than ever.
Based on a 2008 US Consumer Benchmark Study:

77 percent of consumers that have a
PayPass –enabled card or device use it as their primary form of
payment, which demonstrates its ability to bolster relationships for
financial institutions with cardholders

68 percent of cardholders who have used
their PayPass-enabled card report that it enables them to use cash
and checks less often

With PayPass, merchants are growing
both their customer base and loyalty as an increasing number of
consumers with a PayPass-enabled cared or device – 14 percent, up
from 8 percent last year – are making purchasing decisions based
upon PayPass acceptance

Currently, the top merchants that have
received a visit from a new customer because of their PayPass
acceptance include quick-service restaurants (20%), pharmacies (17%),
and supermarkets (13%). However, consumers who are aware that their
card has contactless functionality are interested in using that
feature at a wider range of merchants including department stores
(61%), home improvement outlets (46%), movie theaters (42%),
bookstores (41%), and sports venues (37%).

Consumers also expressed interest in
using alternative PayPass form factors including tags (42%), key fobs
(41%), and mobile phones (33%).