Fast food - even faster thanks to MasterCard PayPass

MasterCard announces first European EMV contactless credit card transaction at McDonald's.

MasterCard Europe further extended its leadership in contactless payments with the announcement of the first European card-based OneSmart MasterCard PayPass transaction at McDonald's. The leading global foodservice retailer, with its European headquarters in Crissier, Switzerland, is a key partner in a new MasterCard PayPass pilot, organised by Swiss banking company, the Aduno Group.

Using MasterCard PayPass, consumers can simply tap their new Aduno Group MasterCard card on a PayPass reader to make a purchase in selected McDonald's restaurants across Switzerland. The innovative technology allows small value purchases under €25 to be completed quickly, securely and easily, without the need for consumers to fumble for cash and coins, swipe a card or sign a receipt.

The current Miss Switzerland, Christa Rigozzi, made the milestone purchase in McDonald's Zurich Stadelhofen restaurant, using the new generation MasterCard PayPass card – powered by the latest version of MasterCard's chip technology, M/Chip 4.

Toni Merschen, Global Head of Chip, MasterCard Worldwide, said, "Today is a very important landmark on our journey to extend contactless payments across Europe and replace cumbersome cash with speed, convenience and security for MasterCard cardholders."

"Introducing contactless payments in Switzerland with MasterCard Europe will revolutionise the payment process”, said Beat Stocker, CEO of the Aduno Group. “In a society where time has become a precious commodity, PayPass satisfies the payment needs of both retailers and end users. Consumers have never before been able to make small, every day purchases in such an easy, quick and yet secure way."

Martin Kroll, Managing Director, McDonald's Switzerland, said: "Our success is based on the formula of fast, friendly service, best quality, cleanliness and an attractive balance between price and performance. We believe the MasterCard PayPass programme to be a perfect fit with this successful formula."

Selected merchants in three Swiss cities, Zurich, Lausanne and Lugano, and 1,000 cardholders from existing Aduno Group customers will take part in the pilot project. Following the initial pilot phase, the market launch of MasterCard PayPass in Switzerland is planned for later this year by the Aduno Group.

MasterCard PayPass is already used widely at McDonald's restaurants in the US, along with more than 46,000 other merchant locations around the world, including Starbucks,

7-Eleven, CVS, Duane Reade, Sheetz and Regal Entertainment Group. The technology has also proved popular outside retail locations, such as sports facilities, with PayPass now accepted in football and baseball stadiums and at professional golfing events.

The launch of the PayPass pilot in Switzerland further extends MasterCard's leadership position in the contactless payments market. In July 2006, MasterCard launched Europe's first PayPass credit card programme with Garanti Bank in Turkey. Also in 2006, MasterCard announced Europe's first Maestro PayPass debit trial in the UK with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) at its headquarters in Edinburgh, the extension of the pilot with RBS to London and two major new PayPass credit pilots in France, in Strasbourg and Toulouse. MasterCard won the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award for its achievements in the contactless payments sector.

“MasterCard PayPass is a leading contactless payment programme and by the end of last year, we already had nearly 13 million PayPass cards in use across the world”, said Cathleen Conforti, MasterCard Worldwide Group Head, Global PayPass. “With leading banking partners such as the Aduno Group and global brands like McDonald's recognising the strong consumer demand and business benefits for making payments quicker, easier and safer, the new era of contactless payments is imminent in Europe.”