Barcelona- US financial services corporation Mastercard has been named as the official payments technology partner of Expo 2020 Dubai with the aim of creating a “seamless” experience for visitors, the company and Expo officials said on Wednesday.
The announcement —which came during Mastercard’s Connecting Tomorrow event in Barcelona—was made by Girish Nanda, Mastercard’s general manager for the UAE and Oman, along with Mohammed Al Hashmi, Expo 2020 Dubai’s senior vice president for innovation and future technologies and Expo senior vice president Gillian Hamburger, who is responsible for partnerships, licensing and retail for the event.
The partnership includes developing innovative payment solutions that help deliver a personalised, seamless, and cashless experience for millions of visitors from around the world. Global payments technology firm Mastercard will offer its innovative payment solutions, using technology including augmented and virtual reality, and biometrics, such as facial and fingerprint recognition, as well as new payment methods including contactless and wearable technologies.
Nanda said the ultimate aim is to create “a cashless payments experience which is seamless, which is simple, and which is safe so that the visitor can focus on and enjoy the Expo.”
“Our own research shows that users are looking for new ways to pay. They’re optimistic about digital payments. They want the flexibility to pay with any device,” he said adding, “but equally important is the safety and security of personal information.”
Al Hashmi explained that the partnership with Mastercard aims to provide personalised experiences to the 25 million visitors expected at the event, an estimated 70% of whom are anticipated to come from outside the UAE.
“We are talking about digital enablement, from the time a visitor wants to know more about Expo – what it is, how would he be able to get there, purchase a ticket, arrive in Dubai…book a hotel, transportation, knowing how to get into Expo, getting inside, finding his way around, what could be the interesting [pavilions] to visit, what to purchase, what to eat,” Al Hashmi elaborated.
