Recently,
MasterCard Inc.
(
MA
) announced a number of partnerships and product launches. The
transactions are aimed at expanding the operations of the company
and enhance client base.
First, MasterCard announced a strategic alliance with VimpelCom,
one of the largest integrated telecommunications service
providers of the world. The partnership aims at providing newer
and better payment solutions to the 212 million customers of
VimpelCom across 18 countries.
The first program under this liaison would be launched in 2013 by
partnering with Cartal LIS Italy to provide prepaid services to
the customers of Wind Italy, an Italian telecom operator.
Second, MasterCard also joined hands with Equity Bank to
introduce mobile point of sale (MPOS) technology to the Kenyan
market, thereby promoting electronic mode of payment in the
country. For this purpose MasterCard and Equity Bank have
collaborated with Ezetap, one of the leading providers of
mobile-based Payments services.
Small merchants in Kenya are dominating the African market in
terms of adopting cost-effective and flexible payment solutions
technologies. But they were unable to offer cashless transactions
to their consumers until now. The introduction of MPOS will
enable these merchants to provide this convenient shopping
experience to customers towards improvement in sales.
Third, it also announced that eServGlobal and Oltio, both
renowned mobile payment technology providers, have joined the
Mobile Money Partnership Program (MMPP) of MasterCard. MMPP,
launched in Feb 2012 allows consumers to access essential
financial services using their mobile phones.
The partnership will help MasterCard to expand and accelerate its
programs for financial inclusion in mobile phones usage.
Finally, it also announced the launch of a payment service
program, Near Field Communication (NFC) in Brazil. To launch this
program, MasterCard will use its Mobile PayPass technology and
partner with Itaú, a publicly quoted bank, TIM, Redecard, a
payment processor and Gemalto, a digital services company.
The partnership and subsequent product launch will provide
consumers with a more convenient, fast and secure payment option
for shopping. Consumers need to tap their PayPass-enabled smart
phones onto the merchant's NFC enabled POS to make instant
payments. The amount will be charged to the customer's virtual
account stored in his smart phone and processed via the account
holder's Itaú issued statement.
In Jan 2013, MasterCard announced its decision to provide other
U.S. debit networks with some of the payment technology solutions
owned by the company. MasterCard took such a step to support the
prevalent trend of acceptance of EMV solutions, where EMV stands
for Europay, MasterCard and Visa.
Another financial service provider,
Discover Financial Services
(
DFS
) launched the new Cadence Bank Debit Card through its alliance
with Birmingham-based Cadence Bank in Jan 2013. Through this
alliance, Discover Debit will provide network support to the
Cadence debit card holders in the second quarter of the year.
MasterCard currently carries Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Vantiv Inc.
(
VNTV
) carries Zacks Rank# 1(Strong Buy),
Fiserv Inc.
(
FISV
) carries Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) whereas Discover shares the same
Zacks Rank as MasterCard.
DISCOVER FIN SV (DFS): Free Stock Analysis
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FISERV INC (FISV): Free Stock Analysis Report
MASTERCARD INC (MA): Free Stock Analysis
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VANTIV INC-A (VNTV): Free Stock Analysis
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