Consumers around the globe continue to use mobile devices rather than dip or swipe payments cards for more of their MasterCard purchases. In less than a year since announcing support for Host Card Emulation (HCE) and cloud-based software for both secure contactless and remote payment transactions, MasterCard today announced projects are currently underway in more than 15 countries. These projects provide consumers with more options for payment experiences across their Android devices.

In offering an alternative to the secure element (SE)-based approach to digitize card credentials into mobile devices, MasterCard Cloud Based Payments creates a foundation for rapid global deployments of mobile payment services. The approach simplifies and speeds the deployment process of contactless mobile offerings for card-issuing financial institutions and other solution providers. As a result, hundreds of licensees have embraced the framework to ensure thoughtful design and secure deployment of mobile payments, and more than 25 pilots and programs are underway and in various locations including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Our pilot was a great opportunity for us to partner with MasterCard in our first HCE solution launch in the market,” said Albert Figueras, Retail Banking Director at Banco Sabadell. “The project provided useful information that enabled us to define the SabadellWallet and to offer our clients the best experience in mobile payments.”

“Since the announcement of HCE specifications, Santander has been working to deliver mobile payments for customers in all our geographies. During the coming months, we will see new payment services being launched as part of Santander’s innovation roadmap, offering our customers new, more convenient and more secure payment experiences that take advantage of new capabilities from mobile devices,” said José María Fuster, General Manager at Santander and Innovation Head. “The goal of Santander is to be at the edge of innovation by providing new services to our customers across all markets where we have retail banking business, and using innovation to build simple, personal and fair value propositions for our more than 100 million customers.”

“In the digital payments industry, we are witnessing a convergence between mobile payments and eCommerce. In fact, UniCredit Group strongly believes that HCE truly represents one of the best available technologies to make the mobile payment experience even easier on a large scale. As such, UniCredit Group and MasterCard are working together to develop a project based on HCE technology, which will prove of paramount importance, not only in Italy, but also in all the other countries where our Group is present,” said Alberto Naef, Head of Global Marketing, Unicredit Group.

To further fast-track their mobile application development on Android devices, MasterCard recently released the Mobile Payment Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK provides a collection of software libraries and tools that allow developers to easily create and test applications that are compliant with MasterCard specifications.

“Our vision for digital payments is to create great experiences for consumers across all channels and all devices, and HCE and cloud-based software provide another path forward for MasterCard and our partners to deliver on that vision,” said James Anderson, Group Head and Senior Vice President, Shared Platform Services at MasterCard. “The approach will drive greatly expanded availability of mobile contactless and remote payments, through integration with MasterPass, our global digital platform.”

MasterCard contactless merchant locations – from major retailers and quick service merchants to convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, vending machines, parking lots, mass transit and taxis – have grown from two to three million in a year, with MasterCard contactless now being accepted in 68 countries. HCE is supported in Android OS starting from the KitKat 4.4 release, which began shipping in November 2013 and continues to roll out on popular smart devices. MasterCard’s approach combines custom software on the mobile device with secure cloud-based processing.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.