NEW DELHI: Offers Innovative MasterCard Mobile Companion Pre-paid Cards to Underserved Consumers
in India and Also Empowers Franchisees to Provide E-Payment Service.
At Mobile World Congress, MasterCard Worldwide, today announced its collaboration with
Beam, a revolutionary mobile and electronic commerce wallet, to launch a first-of-its-kind
, low-cost, MasterCard mobile companion pre-paid card that will allow over 14 million
mobile wallet consumers of Beam to transact at physical merchants, online and access ATMs.
With over 850 million mobile subscribers in India today, the potential for scale and
benefits to a growing community cannot be overstated. According to the latest MasterCard
Mobile Payments Readiness Index, India achieved a score of 31.5, which puts the country in
the middle of the pack with regard to overall readiness for mobile payments.
This collaboration is another step by MasterCard towards its vision of a world beyond
cash, bringing new and innovative electronic payment solutions to a new generation of
customers, both banked and underserved. Now, consumers in India can connect their existing
mobile wallets to the world of MasterCard acceptance and electronic payments to pay
utility bills, make fund transfers, book movie or travel tickets, and even withdraw money
from ATMs as well as Beam franchisees. The prepaid card will seamlessly synchronize with
the customer's existing Beam account. Beginning July/August 2013, these cards will be
issued instantly by Beam franchisees (many of whom are educated, unemployed women) across
the country.
"There's an increasing need for electronic payments in markets such as India, where
more than 40% of the adult population do not have access to banking services. In 2012, we
launched the MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program seeking to provide consumers
living in remote areas of the world with access to mobile money services. The launch of
this revolutionary product will not only help bring more Indians into the financial
system, but also benefit merchants especially those who currently do not have
point-of-sale acceptance, which is roughly around 6 million merchants in India," said
Philip Yen, Group Head, Emerging Payments, Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard
Worldwide.
"Our collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide's pre-paid card system enables us to
offer our customers a unique product that fits their lifestyle and provides access to ATMs
and card-transactions at merchants, further extending the reach of our Mobile Wallet to a
wide range of cashless solutions and our endeavor to make Beam an aspired brand," said
Anand Srivastava, Chairman, Beam.
The collaboration is a win-win strategy for a host of stakeholders. Beam customers
will be able to add more functionality and utility to their current mobile wallet
offering. The MasterCard merchant community will benefit from a higher volume of
electronic payments given that a significant section of consumers are predominantly
cash-based in India. Beam franchisees will be further empowered with their new capability
of distributing mobile companion pre-paid cards and conducting on-behalf-of electronic
payment transactions for consumers with limited and one-off electronic payment needs.
It will also help Beam realize its vision to be a globally-recognized corporation and
its unique digital commerce coupled with its distribution tie-up with India Post to sell
Beam services at post offices will greatly enhance the reach of this new service.
In fact, the collaboration with Beam could trigger far-reaching innovations in the
mobile and payments industries. One, it is a low cost pre-paid account that is linked to a
mobile-based store value account. Second, while there will be one account, there will be
two form factors i.e. phone and plastic. Third, it is issued instantly, linked to the
mobile wallet in real time and authenticated via the mobile phone of the consumer. This
service marks a significant step towards the coming together of mobile-commerce and
banking entities in the payment space.
Consumers can easily enjoy Beam services by registering for an account via SMS, Beam's
website, wapsite or app and transacting at anytime from anywhere. Beam services include
telecom/DTH-TV/data card recharge, utility bill payments, rail, air and bus travel
bookings, mobile/e-commerce, movie tickets, ringtones, wallpaper, songs, games, COD/home
delivery and more. The registration is free, paperless and hassle-free - it does not
require a change in SIM card, download of software or a credit, debit or net bank card,
and works on all mobile phones.
About Beam
Beam (www.beam.co.in [http://www.beam.co.in ]) is a revolutionary Mobile Wallet and Mobile/Ecommerce marketplace which endeavors to enable convenience, empower economically, and enrich the lives of our customers.
About MasterCard
MasterCard (NYSE: MA), (www.mastercard.com [http://www.mastercard.com ]), is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews [https://twitter.com/MasterCardNews ], join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.
Primary Media Contact: Eshant Arora, eeshant@value360india.com, 91-9891255258
Secondary Media Contact: Jayati Agarwal, jayati@value360india.com, 91-8285313314
