Masterpass Logo PNG
Masterpass began as Mastercard’s response to the early-2010s shift toward smartphones and fast-growing e-commerce. Online checkout still required users to enter card numbers, expiry dates, CVV codes, and delivery addresses by hand. On 7 May 2012, at the CTIA conference in New Orleans, Mastercard announced PayPass Wallet Services, a cloud-based platform for banks, merchants, and technology partners.
The service stored payment details securely and enabled one-click or tap purchases on a smartphone. Mastercard made the platform open to cards from other payment networks, not only its own. By the third quarter of 2012, PayPass Wallet Services was available to partners in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
In February 2013, the product was renamed MasterPass, with a commercial launch in the first quarter of that year. At the time, more than 5,900 merchants supported the service through technology partners. Early adopters included American Airlines, Argos, Boots, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, and MLB Advanced Media. Banks in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom connected the wallet through their own apps.
MasterPass served as a “wallet of wallets,” allowing banks to embed Mastercard’s technology under their own brands. Users could store cards, delivery addresses, and loyalty data, while tokenization replaced real card numbers with digital tokens. It competed with PayPal and Visa Checkout, launched in 2014. In 2019, EMVCo, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, JCB, and UnionPay, adopted Secure Remote Commerce. In 2020, Masterpass was discontinued and replaced by Click to Pay.
Meaning and History
What is Masterpass?
This digital wallet service is designed to simplify transactions in apps, online, and stores. It allows customers to track multiple credit cards, mailing addresses, and loyalty program details in one secure place. Customers can quickly complete transactions while shopping without entering their payment information. The service is compatible with various devices and is widely accepted by retailers worldwide. With a smooth checkout process, the service aims to reduce abandoned carts for businesses and enhance customer convenience. The service includes security methods such as tokenization to protect sensitive data.
2002 – 2016
2016 – today
