{"id":202107,"date":"2021-03-05T08:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T00:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/?p=202107"},"modified":"2021-03-18T10:00:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T02:00:50","slug":"mastercard-on-how-covid-19-is-accelerating-contactless-payments-in-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2021\/03\/mastercard-on-how-covid-19-is-accelerating-contactless-payments-in-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastercard EVP: COVID-19 is spurring contactless payments in Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>COVID-19 highlights need for contactless payment solutions in Asia<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mastercard executive vice president shares his insights on contactless payment trends in Asia Pacific<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Over 60 percent of consumers in APAC would prefer a contactless payment method in stores, survey finds<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the takeaways of the novel <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/04\/are-mobile-payments-the-future-covid-19-could-see-it-go-either-way\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">coronavirus pandemic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is that airborne infections have the potential to be highly contagious. Whether the virus is spread <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/who-we-did-not-say-that-cash-was-transmitting-coronavirus-2020-03-06\">through touching money is still unclear<\/a>, but one thing is certain: Cash is a hotbed for germs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This concern has caused individuals all over the world to become hyper aware of how unsanitary and bacteria-laden physical currency can actually be as a result of having gone through many bearers and bearing conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even here in Asia where the acceptance and usage of physical denominations is still most popular, there has been a noticeable <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/04\/e-commerce-boom-could-see-e-payment-trends-take-flight-in-asia\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shift in demand<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for contactless payment solutions in the past year. A new global consumer survey by Mastercard found that 68 percent of shoppers in Asia Pacific would rather buy from stores offering a contactless payment option like tapping or waving their card, as opposed to touching an exposed PIN keypad or pen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While in Australia it is far more common to tap or wave to pay for items, Less than one in 10 transactions Down Under are with non-contactless methods. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/01\/sg-launches-new-act-to-bolster-and-safeguard-its-digital-payment-landscape\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singapore<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has seen contactless payments grow by nearly sixty percent in the past year, according to the latest polls done by card providers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The COVID-19 crisis has only accelerated usage of cashless methods, with Mastercard EVP of Product &amp; Innovation for Asia Pacific, Sandeep Malhotra telling <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech Wire Asia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the usage of contactless payment options has shot up 2.5 times compared to non-contactless transactions in Asia Pacific from February to March this year alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The combination of the health crisis and the inevitable shift towards contact-free payments has seen a widespread adoption in New Zealand, Hong Kong, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/payspacemagazine.com\/fintech\/malaysia-to-increase-its-contactless-debit-card-payments\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malaysia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several other Asian countries are seeing faster adoption of the payment system including China, Japan, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/03\/indonesia-is-pushing-for-a-small-business-digital-payment-revolution\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indonesia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and Vietnam. India has experienced a meteoric surge in contactless payments in recent months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSocial distancing is the new norm in many countries, and it\u2019s all about minimizing the payment touchpoints, whether it\u2019s from the consumer\u2019s standpoint or from the retailers,\u201d says Mastercard\u2019s Sandeep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s fast, it\u2019s convenient, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesundaily.my\/business\/keep-on-tapping-contactless-payments-are-completely-secure-HK2185009\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it\u2019s secure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as promoting cleanliness. 80 percent of retailers would prefer a cleaner way to receive payment, so that\u2019s the number one benefit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sandeep says adopting contactless solutions gives retailers a cleaner way to receive payments, while consumers benefit from additional ways to make payments using methods other than cash. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Sandeep, once a country begins implementing cashless payment methods, the trend is that the adoption rates tick upwards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Choice, security, and the convenience offered by contactless solutions are very attractive to users, and the better hygiene benefits mean that consumers might never have to take their cards out of their wallets again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGiving consumers an ability to go online, and an ability to accept contactless payments in a way that contactless becomes the norm\u201d is the intention behind the contactless push for Mastercard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mastercard is <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/04\/complex-regulations-and-evolving-digital-payment-landscape-require-financial-services-to-rethink-ekyc\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">working with regulators and industry partners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in every nation to ensure transaction limits are sufficient for buying essential items throughout the pandemic\u2019s duration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Raising transaction limits will also help smaller businesses, according to Sandeep, as \u201ccreating sufficiently high limits so they [the retailers] can receive commissions in a higher amount while minimizing touchpoints.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He continued, \u201cWe\u2019re working with governments &amp; industry partners in multiple markets \u2013 the latest initiative is in Australia, we&#8217;re going to the Philippines in July, and then other markets like Hong Kong &amp; others beyond Asia Pacific.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For now, cash is still king in Asia: 85 percent of transactions are still performed using traditional hard money. However, recent indications are immensely optimistic for more cashless methods very, very soon \u2013 much of it driven by the heightened awareness brought on by the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"see-also left\"><div class=\"row\" data-equalizer><a href=https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2020\/04\/we-need-contactless-payment-options-right-now-ar-could-make-them-fun\/><div class=\"medium-12 small-4 columns\" data-equalizer-watch><img width=\"400\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-400x200.jpg\" class=\"ratio2by1 wp-post-image\" alt=\"Augmented reality payment systems can help humans limit contact during the pandemic. Source: AFP\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-400x200.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-800x400.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-150x150.jpg\" class=\"ratiosquare wp-post-image\" alt=\"Augmented reality payment systems can help humans limit contact during the pandemic. Source: AFP\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/063_1140456667-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/div><div class=\"medium-12 small-8 columns\" data-equalizer-watch><h4>WE NEED CONTACTLESS PAYMENT OPTIONS RIGHT NOW \u2013 AR COULD MAKE THEM FUN<\/h4><p class=\"byline\">Adlina AR | 15 April, 2020<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if contactless payments became the widely accepted payment option of choice in certain parts of Asia within the next three to six months,\u201d Sandeep concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contact-free payments are set to take off in a big way in Asia over the coming months, as physical stores and customers reel from cleanliness concerns related to cold, hard cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":591,"featured_media":202108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51,24,2304,12,7,2609,2635,4851,2262,2824,4876,2313,20,2274,4345,2593,2266,4382,8,4730,9,2387,4911,2315,10],"tags":[335,4416,13,4831,2734,1369,207,872,5048],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mastercard on how COVID-19 is spurring contactless payments in Asia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Contact-free payments are set to take off in a big way in Asia over the coming months, as physical stores and customers reel from cleanliness concerns.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2021\/03\/mastercard-on-how-covid-19-is-accelerating-contactless-payments-in-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mastercard on how COVID-19 is spurring contactless payments in Asia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contact-free payments are set to take off in a big way in Asia over the coming months, as physical stores and customers reel from cleanliness concerns.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2021\/03\/mastercard-on-how-covid-19-is-accelerating-contactless-payments-in-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tech Wire Asia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techwireasia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-05T00:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-18T02:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/063_1054028108.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@thecrystalcrown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techwireasia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/\",\"name\":\"Tech Wire Asia\",\"description\":\"Where technology and business intersect\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/techwireasia.com\/2021\/03\/mastercard-on-how-covid-19-is-accelerating-contactless-payments-in-asia\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/063_1054028108.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.techwireasia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/063_1054028108.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"A Mastercard contactless terminal being used at the baseball World Series. 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