MasterCard is now Mastercard, or even mastercard in some cases. Sometimes you won’t even see the name at all — instead you’ll see the iconic red and yellow Venn diagram. But even that logo will look slightly different now. It’s all a part of the payment company’s push to make its brand digital-first and contemporary.
It’s tough to re-brand or alter an iconic logo that’s instantly recognizable, which is why the change is far from drastic. Solid colors, simple circles, and a lowercase name — it’s the first re-branding for the company in 20 years. The new design changes will be mimicked by all the company’s sub-brands starting with Masterpass later this month.
Masterpass gets the contact-less treatment
But the design change is far from the biggest announcement Mastercard is making — Masterpass is now a direct contact-less payment competitor to the likes of Android Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. The company launched the service back in 2013, but until now it has only been available for use with select apps and through the web.
With its new in-store contact-less solution, Mastercard says people can use Masterpass at more than 5 million merchants in 77 countries that accept contact-less payments, such as BJ’s Wholesale Club. The contact-less feature with Masterpass is first arriving to Android devices in the U.S. towards the end of July.
“From purchasing a train ticket from your mobile device, to splitting and paying your restaurant bill right at the table, to buying your groceries with the tap of your phone in-store and booking a flight online, Masterpass simplifies the checkout experience,” the company writes in a news post.
Masterpass is providing banks with its API so these financial institutions can directly integrate Masterpass into their own apps, or create a companion app for it. The following banks will support Mastercard’s in-store tap-to-pay feature in their Android app: Ally Bank, Associated Bank, Bank of America, Bank of the West, BMO Harris Bank, Capital One, Central Bank, Citi, Fifth Third Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, First Tech Federal Credit Union, KeyBank, People’s United Bank, Security Services Federal Credit Union, SunTrust, and Virginia Credit Union.
Mastercard says it will also have a standalone app as a third option.
The company demoed the ability to use Masterpass to pay in-store with tap-and-pay NFC. JetBlue’s chatbot will let you use Masterpass to book flights quickly. You can also find a Masterpass-ready vending machine to buy a coke via an app, pay for your dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Masterpass through Pepper the robot, and more.
