Mastercard has announced the acquisition of a new mobile payments technology platform-Oltio Card International from Standard Bank Group.
The acquisition is expected to help Mastercard run its operations on Oltio’s platform for the provision to member banks of person-to-person payments, bill payments, and airtime top-ups, and other utility payments which can be integrated into already existing banking applications.
Oltio card international is a joint venture between Standard Bank and Telecommunications company MTN. The technology is currently being used to authenticate the Masterpass digital wallet transactions. The company also pioneered several mobile payment solutions which include authentication technology.
This acquisition will enable Mastercard to enhance its payments solutions and also enable small businesses to accept digital payments using efficient and affordable technology such as the Quick Response QR codes.
Reacting to this acquisition, Andrew Wilmot, Executive Group Card and Emerging Payments, Standard Bank, believes the technology will thrive as part of an issuer-independent payments company with Mastercard’s vast global resources and innovative technology.
A research conducted by the Fletcher School and Mastercard Center for Inclusive growth shows $301 billion of funds flows from consumers to businesses in Nigeria, 98 percent is still based on cash.
Recall that Mastercard recently entered into a partnership with social media giant Facebook and some Nigerian Banks on the launch of Masterpass Quick Response QR technology. The Masterpass QR which provides people with any type of mobile phone the ability to safely accept and make an in-person purchase without cash or plastic cards.
The new QR solution which offers a great choice in payments and complements Mastercard’s investment in contact-less payments to provide merchants of all sizes from international chains to individual shop owners and street vendor a fast, secure and inexpensive way to accept payments.
With this acquisition, Mastercard said it intends to utilize Oltio’s technology and infrastructure to boost its current digital solutions for merchants and issuers, equipping them to provide optimized payment experiences for their consumers.
