Mastercard introduces contactless payment on SBI Card App

By Edil Corneille

Today, global payments technology company Mastercard and SBI Card announced the launch of contactless payments on the SBI Card app. This is said to be the first-ever app of a credit card issuer in India to use Mastercard’s tokenization platform, Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES), that allows payment credentials to be securely tokenized and stored in mobile devices, according to a press release. With this service in place, SBI Card Mastercard cardholders need not carry physical cards and can transact at any contactless point of sale terminal using their mobile. So, the cardholders enjoy the benefit of paying up to INR 2,000 with just a tap on their mobile and for payments above INR 2,000, they will need to enter their Card PIN on the terminal.

This feature is based on tokenization which provides high security and trust to consumers, as the actual card details are not shared with the merchant. SBI Card Mastercard cardholders will have to do a one-time registration of their card on the latest version of their mobile app. Once registered, they can complete payments simply by unlocking their phone screen and bringing the mobile near the contactless PoS terminal.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari, MD & CEO, SBI Card said, “Use of contactless payments has been on the rise over past few months, prevailing conditions have further accelerated the pace of adoption by merchants and consumers. Driven by customer centricity, we at SBI Card are committed towards making life simpler and better for our consumers. Today, our credit cards can not only reside in one’s wallet but also securely on one’s mobile too, thus offering a faster, convenient and more secure card payments experience. This collaboration with Mastercard is one more step in the direction of bolstering efforts to offer convenient digital payment options, to consumers.”

Porush Singh, Division President, South Asia, Mastercard said, “Safety and security combined with quick and convenient payment experience, is at the core of growing India’s digital economy. With the newly launched contactless payment feature on SBI Card mobile app, Mastercard is strengthening the long-standing partnership with India’s largest credit card only issuer. Mastercard is confident that the service will pave the way for a superior mobile-based payment experience for SBI Card cardholders. It will also go a long way towards driving contactless payments, especially in a time when people prefer touch-free transactions in a safe and secure manner.”

According to a recent survey conducted by Mastercard to understand the Indian consumer sentiment towards contactless payments, over 54 per cent of the respondents said they are aware how to use a contactless card on a PoS machine and 74 per cent of the respondents said they will continue to make purchases digitally or via contactless mode in the coming times. India’s payments system will also likely benefit from the uptake of contactless and digital payments in the post-COVID-19 world.