MWC 2017: Mastercard Teams With Oracle to Expand Digital Payments Presence in Hospitality, Retail

Mastercard has teamed up with database technology developer Oracle to expand digital payments in the hospitality and retail industries, the companies announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Mastercard is currently exhibiting its payments solutions at Mobile World Congress 2017.

A big part of the effort will revolve around Qkr, Mastercard’s mobile app that allows users to make orders and pay for them, with Mastercard having so far emphasized its applications for food orders. Mastercard says it’s going to bring Qkr to some major new markets this year, including Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, so there’s a lot of room for growth. With respect to the restaurant industry in particular, the companies say they are already working with brands including Carluccio’s, Geronimo Pubs, and Young & Co.s Brewery to enable Qkr payments.

Meanwhile, Mastercard and Oracle will also bring Mastercard Payment Gateway Services to more businesses, and Oracle will embrace Masterpass, Mastercard’s cross-channel digital payment platform, in its own products.

The collaboration further underscores Mastercard’s determination to be a major competitor in the digital payments space as new payment systems like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay also pioneer the frontier. Its announcement follows quickly after its launch of a Digital Vendor Directory to help third party companies leverage Masterpass.