MasterCard’s online wallet MasterPass touches down in the UK on its way into Europe

MasterCard’s virtual online wallet payment system MasterPass is now rolling out at supporting retailers in the UK as the service makes its way into Europe.

The company confirmed that the service, which has already been enabled for retailers in the US, Australia and Canada, is rolling out in the UK as of today.

For retailers it means the opportunity to add more payment options and streamline (and personalize) the checkout experience.

For users, it means you can opt to store all your payment, store card, loyalty, shipping and billing address details in one place and pay for goods and services online from retailers that have signed up to support the wallet.

For MasterCard, it means another small slice of the transactions pie.

Marion King, President, UK and Ireland at MasterCard said:

“For retailers, MasterPass provides a faster, easier way to check out their customers, and increase sales without significantly changing the way they currently process payments.  MasterPass can help retailers reduce checkout abandonment rates, which affected 37 percent of all online transactions in the first quarter of 2013, equating to more than £6 billion in much needed revenue per year according to IMRG and Capgemini. UK consumers spend more than £62 billion a year online.”

Much like, say, using Amazon’s one-click ordering, visting a retailer that supports MasterPass pretty much just means clicking the ‘Buy With MasterPass’ button to complete the transaction. There’s also a dual authentication option which means that you need to also input a code sent out via SMS for an extra level of security.

Handily, once your account is all set up with card and personal details you’re ready to go. MasterCard has also optimized it for mobile use too, so there’s no need to be sat at your computer to use it.

Which cards and where can I use it?

As well as MasterCards, you can also add all sorts of other card details to the wallet, giving the choice of which to use at the point of checkout, including other branded credit, debit, prepaid and private label cards.

The launch includes support for payments using MasterPass from Argos, Boots, House of Fraser, MBNA, and The Hut Group (including Zavvi) among others — although not all from today precisely.

A spokesman for MasterCard told The Next Web that while in-store NFC purchases wouldn’t be available initially in the UK (it’s being used as a testbed, of sorts, for the EU market as a whole), they would be introduced a little later down the line if consumers had appetite for it.

There is an exception though, EE customers using the Cash on Tap app would be able to make payments using NFC, although that also requires having on of only a few specific handsets.

He did add that the full European roll out would include in-store NFC support though, with a focus initially in Poland. No specific roll out plans for Europe were given but additional launches are also planned for Latin America, Asia and the Middle East throughout 2013 and 2014.

Featured Image Credit – Getty Images