Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 30: In a major push toward expanding contactless digital payments, PhonePe and Mastercard have announced a strategic partnership to introduce a new feature that allows Mastercard cardholders in India to make in-store payments by simply tapping their NFC-enabled Android smartphones at payment terminals using the PhonePe app.
The move comes at a time when consumers are increasingly turning to smartphone-based payments for speed, convenience, and security. The newly launched feature combines Mastercard’s tokenisation technology with PhonePe’s vast user base of over 618 million registered users, enabling a seamless 'tap and pay' experience across retail outlets in India and abroad.
Cardholders can now save their Mastercard credit, debit, or prepaid cards on their smartphones through a simple, one-time process in the PhonePe app. Once tokenised, the card can be used for both secure in-store tap payments and tokenised e-commerce transactions, without the need to share actual card details during checkout.
“This elevates both convenience and security for users, enabling contactless payments at physical stores and safer online transactions — all within the familiar PhonePe app,” said Deep Agrawal, Head of Payments at PhonePe. “With the growing adoption of NFC-enabled smartphones and the rising preference for ‘tap and pay’, this feature bridges both worlds seamlessly.”
Ravi Datla, senior vice president, Products and Solutions, South Asia at Mastercard, echoed the sentiment, saying: “India continues to set the global pace for digital commerce. This collaboration expands access to device-based tokenisation, giving Mastercard cardholders an exclusive ability to tap and pay effortlessly, both domestically and internationally.”
Key benefits of the new feature include:
• Secure ‘tap and pay’ transactions at any NFC-enabled PoS terminal
• Tokenised online shopping where card credentials are protected
• Faster checkouts, as saved cards can be reused without re-entering details
• Global usability, enabling international contactless payments via the PhonePe app
The rollout of this feature will be phased, beginning with Mastercard cardholders in India using Android smartphones. As per both companies, this marks another milestone in their shared vision to accelerate India’s digital payments ecosystem with solutions that are secure, scalable, and user-friendly.