Mastercard Looks to Scale up Masterpass And Order-Ahead With an Oracle Tie-Up

Mastercard Inc. and Oracle Corp. announced Monday a collaboration that could dramatically expand the reach of Mastercard’s Masterpass digital-wallet technology, as well as the network’s tokenization capability.

Masterpass will be embedded into Oracle’s POS systems for retail and hospitality merchants.

The companies said Oracle will embed Masterpass in systems it installs within the retail and hospitality markets. The integration will include an order-and-pay application from Mastercard called Qkr already in use at some restaurants using Oracle, such as wagamama, Carluccio’s, Young & Co.’s Brewery, and Geronimo Pubs. Developed at Mastercard Labs, Qkr allows users to order ahead and pay for pickup later. It also enables customers to place orders and pay for them while sitting at a table inside a restaurant.

Order-ahead apps have become a critical component of mobile-payments services as providers seek to differentiate their wallets and boost consumer usage. The recently launched Chase Pay app, for example, has agreed to leverage an order-ahead app from Boston-based mobile-services provider LevelUp.

Mastercard also clearly expects the deal with Oracle to help the recently revamped Masterpass expand more rapidly in the restaurant, hotel, and retail markets. “This partnership is about how we get to scale,” Kiki Del Valle, a Mastercard senior vice president tells Digital Transactions News.

The arrangement with Oracle is also expected to allow merchants to offer a fast checkout capability across both in-store and online channels, the companies said, relying on Mastercard payment gateway services.

As for Qkr, which is currently live in four countries including the United Kingdom, Mastercard said it will expand the app this year to the United States and five other geographic markets this year. Its reach will also extend beyond hospitality to include school fees, gas stations, parking, sports arenas, and vending machines.

The Oracle integration was announced at the Mobile World Congress, an annual trade show in Barcelona devoted to mobile-technology developments.