The acquisition, ITRealms
gathered, builds on Mastercard’s longstanding relationship with Oltio, a
startup that pioneered and patented several mobile payments and banking
solutions, including an authentication technology.
ITRealms reports
that today, that technology enables consumers to authenticate Masterpass
digital wallet purchases in South Africa using their bank PIN and mobile phone.
Over the coming months, Mastercard will leverage Oltio’s
technology, people and infrastructure to enhance and scale its existing suite
of digital solutions for merchants and issuers in cash-orientated, emerging
markets - in turn, enabling them to deliver more seamless payment
experiences to the consumer.
“Too many consumers and merchants in the MEA region are
stuck in a cash economy that doesn’t work for them,” says Mark Elliott,
division president for Mastercard, Southern Africa. “By combining our joint
expertise, technologies and reach, we can bridge the divide between the
region’s cash economies and the digital future, bringing the benefits of
digital payments to more people and businesses.”
Issuers will benefit from added functionality including person-to-person
payments, bill payments, and airtime top-ups, which they can integrate into
their existing mobile banking applications.
For merchants, Mastercard will enhance and scale its
omni-channel acceptance solutions, enabling even the smallest businesses to
accept digital payments using efficient and affordable technology, such as
Quick Response (QR) codes.
“We have had a great relationship with Mastercard over the
years, and believe that Oltio will thrive as part of an issuer-independent
payments company with Mastercard’s vast global resources and innovative
technology,” says Andrew Wilmot, executive, Group Card and Emerging Payments
for Standard Bank.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
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