BlackBerry Smartphones Get PayPass Payments by MasterCard Canada

MasterCard Canada is working alongside Research In Motion and BMO Bank of Montreal to bring contactless payments to Canadians through the PayPass 'tap and go' payment system. Currently in a four-month trial, participants will be able to make purchases at over 8,500 stores with their tag-equipped BlackBerry devices.

The MasterCard PayPass will be integrated with the BlackBerry, with a confirmation email of each transaction sent to the BlackBerry smartphone, including purchase details such as the amount, retailer and date of transaction.

"Interest in mobile commerce continues to grow and the BlackBerry platform is uniquely positioned to provide a secure, robust and reliable foundation for innovative solutions such as the PayPass Mobile Tag," said Tyler Lessard, Vice President, Global Alliances and Developer Relations at Research In Motion. "BlackBerry products and services have simplified and enhanced a broad range of everyday tasks with a unique mobile experience and we look forward to working with MasterCard and BMO to extend that mobile experience to commerce."

The way this works is with a PayPass Mobile Tag, a self-adhesive device that may be attached to a BlackBerry smartphone to add MasterCard PayPass contactless payment capability. The Mobile Tag contains the same chip and antenna found in a regular PayPass card, with the addition of special material to reduce interference between the Mobile Tag and the phone to which it is attached.

It will be very interested to see how well this turns out in four months. If all goes well in Canada, perhaps we will see this integrated globally, where ever MasterCard PayPass payments are accepted.

[Press Release]