Mastercard unveils ‘virtual wallet’ bid

MASTERCARD has unveiled its bid to dominate mobile payments with a “virtual wallet” allowing customers to keep personal payment details in their phone and avoid checkouts by scanning bar codes in-store to pay.

The US group and firms like Google are looking for ways to capitalise on the prevalence of smartphones by providing programs that house credit and debit cards, coupons and store loyalty scheme details virtually.

Mastercard said its MasterPass service would let customers pay for their goods without approaching a cashier by scanning a bar code and creating a digital receipt on their phone that can be shown as they exit the store.