The recent MasterCard Worldwide Online Shopping Survey found that online shopping is on the rise in South Africa, with key driving factors being lower prices, payment convenience as well as secure payment facilities.

MasterCard is looking to boost this by providing South African online shoppers with even greater access, convenience and security. The company has, in cooperation with the local mobile-centric payments and financial services company, Oltio, introduced MasterCard Mobile to the South African market.

The MasterCard Mobile payment platform will enable MasterCard and Maestro cardholders to use their PIN-based debit, cheque or credit cards, issued by Absa, Nedbank as well as Standard Bank to pay for online purchases, also using a mobile phone (MTN or Vodacom).

A key feature of MasterCard Mobile is that it enables these Maestro cardholders to make secure online purchases for the first time, which has not been the case in the past.

How it works

To make an online payment via MasterCard Mobile, a cardholder can select to use the MasterCard Mobile payment option on participating e-commerce sites, in a similar way to how they would select to pay by credit card, debit card or EFT.

Users will then be securely prompted to register their payment card of choice and enter their PIN-based MasterCard debit-, credit- or Maestro debit card number, the expiry date of the card as well as the CVC number and their cellphone number.

Once this has been done, the cardholder’s mobile phone number is used to initiate subsequent payments. Authorisation of payments is done by entering the cardholder’s PIN on their mobile phone.

“The MasterCard Mobile innovation will enable millions of South Africans to make secure purchases using their PIN-based bank cards. It’s a convenient and cost-effective payment mechanism that doesn’t require customers to open yet another bank account,” explained Terry Timson, CEO of Oltio.

“This pioneering technology means consumers can benefit from the competitive prices, convenience and variety associated with buying online, simply by registering their MasterCard or Maestro PIN-based credit or debit card to transact,” concluded Timson.