Mastercard's revolutionary payment technology can turn your smartphone into PoS machines

Will you be surprised if you visit any store and the merchant waves your Credit/Debit card over his smartphone to make the payment? Of course, you will be but soon this may be possible in India. Mastercard may soon bring a payment technology that will empower small merchants by helping them use their phones as Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines, says a media report. The technology called 'Tap and Go' will allow businesses to accept contactless payments. All the NFC smartphones support the feature. This will eliminate the need of PoS machines and make payments faster. 

The Mastercard service is already available in developed countries like the US and Poland. According to the report by Hindu BusinessLine, the technology is set to make India debut soon. It will be useful for merchants including those who: 

* Previously were unable to accept card payments and can now use their own mobile phone to become a new MasterCard merchant.
* Already accept cards but find the cost of purpose-built POS devices too high to allow for profitable card acceptance and are attracted to the ease of use, and simplified cost model; e.g., small merchants with low or seasonal retail volume.
* Need an alternative to landline communications due to poor infrastructure or the mobile nature of the merchant’s business; e.g. field agents who sell door to door, deliver goods to homes, or are always on the move.
* Already accept card payments such as large retailers wishing to transform their current POS environment and enhance the retail experience, whether by line-busting or by offering product look-ups and payment options throughout the store.

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The contactless payments are allowed for transactions below Rs 2000.  At present, India has over 50 lakh PoS machines and Mastercard expects to empower around one crore merchants by 2020.