Mastercard has partnered with NMI and Global Payments Inc. to launch its first live Cloud Tap on Phone pilot with Computer Engineering Group (CEG), a California based independent IT services provider. Its software is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform.

Tap on Phone democratises point-of-sale technology by turning an Android smartphone or tablet into an acceptance device, allowing businesses to accept contactless payments while minimising the need to invest in hardware terminals or extra features.

Mastercard has convened an ecosystem of partners to launch Cloud Tap on Phone. Among them are payments enablement technology company NMI which operates as a key integration partner and distributor. Meanwhile, Global Payments, a provider of payment technology and software solutions, will provide point of sale acceptance technology.

EG, an independent IT services company from California, becomes the first company to pilot Mastercard’s Cloud Tap on Phone.

Mastercard will make its pre-certified Cloud POS software development kit (SDK) openly available, encouraging solution providers, fintechs, acquirers and processors to innovate and co-create new cloud-first products.

“We continue to see an accelerating shift to digital payments, with businesses of all sizes wanting to provide swift, secure, compelling point-of-sale experiences. Cloud POS enables us to make these experiences available to our partners with greater speed and efficiency,”

said Milan Gauder, Global Head of Mastercard’s Acceptance Solutions Group.

“Our partners are the center of everything we do, and our trusted technology powers innovative experiences, choice, flexibility and certainty, creating the products they need. Mastercard’s Cloud Tap on Phone delivers on our promise of ground-breaking products and innovation.”

The development of Cloud POS technology and the Cloud Tap on Phone product was spearheaded by Mastercard Labs, the company’s new product development arm. The pilot with CEG follows live product testing on Mastercard’s Purchase, N.Y. campus.

The company will conduct further Cloud Tap on Phone pilots and commercial deployments in other markets in 2021.

Currently, Mastercard’s Tap on Phone solution is in 16 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, the Middle East and Africa. Pilots are taking place with partners in Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Poland, Kazakhstan, Romania, Canada, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, among other markets.

Featured image credit: edited based on photo by Jonas Leupe from Unsplash