Following its success in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK, MasterPass is now debuting in Italy thanks to MasterCard's agreements with the country's major banks and an increasing number of participating retailers. Over 3,500 of Italy's leading brands and companies have recognised the new business opportunities e-commerce has to offer.

MasterPass: making online shopping fast, simple and secure
With digital shopping becoming an increasingly multi-channel process in Italy (more than 50% of Italian consumers are multi-channel consumers)*, MasterPass is making online purchasing even faster, simpler and more secure. Having stored their name, card and shipping details when they sign up for the service, consumers no longer need to enter them at the checkout: they simply click or tap on the "Buy with MasterPass" button and enter their password to complete the payment. This kind of simplicity is fundamental to the growth of e-commerce, now a well-established phenomenon with 3.7 million Italians making at least 10 online purchases a year and a rise in online shopping using mobile devices (11% via smartphones and 10% via tablets*).

Because it is so simple to use, MasterPass makes it easier for consumers to shop online using their mobile and all other devices, be they smartphones, tablets or pcs, thereby enhancing the "Everywhere Commerce" experience.

The new service is available to consumers through their banks, guaranteeing the highest possible standards of security and privacy.

MasterPass is now available to Banca Generali, BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas and BPM customers. It will shortly be extended to customers of Italy's other major banks.

Benefits for retailers
E-commerce has continued to achieve double-figure growth in Italy in recent years. MasterPass enables retailers to offer a fast, simple shopping experience, thereby reducing the number of consumers who abandon their purchases before the checkout. With more than 1.9 billion MasterCard cardholders world-wide, Italian retailers will also gain access to a huge number of potential customers.

Today e-commerce in Italy extends beyond the consumer electronics and travel sectors to include many other flag-bearers for Italian excellence. Brands such as Caleffi and Morellato have been keen to adopt the new platform provided by Banca Sella in its role as acquirer bank.

"The figures from our latest report on multi-channel purchasing clearly show how we're moving away from the idea of general e-commerce towards the more fitting concept of Everywhere Commerce," comments Giuliano Noci, Professor of Marketing at the Politecnico di Milano and scientific director of Osservatorio sulla Multicanalità (Multi-channel Monitoring Unit). "We're seeing a sharp rise in the number of multi-channel or "Hyper Reloaded" consumers, now standing at 9.7 million. This is now the largest consumer sector, with significant year-on-year growth of 28%, confirming how ordinary users are maturing and migrating towards the more advanced cluster by a natural process of evolution. A service providing a quicker, simpler shopping experience from all devices is a real advantage for consumers and retailers alike."

"The technology revolution we're living in our country - mainly led by the proliferation of smartphones and tablets and by the increasing trend focused on e-commerce - means that any connected device is becoming a shopping device - comments Paolo Battiston, Division President Italy & Greece at MasterCard. MasterPass is the digital payment solution for online and mobile payments available for merchants, consumers and financial institutions."

Over 3,500 Italian retailers have enrolled for MasterPass to date. Italian consumers will now be able to use the service when shopping from all types of device; retailers will also be in a position to offer the platform to international customers. MasterPass will be providing additional services in the future, including real-time alerts, bank balances and purchase records, as well as offers, discounts and ad hoc experiences. MasterPass will also support emerging technologies for in-store shopping, based on the purchasing experiences retailers wish to offer their customers.

"With the growing attention of our customers towards the use of new devices such as smartphones and tablet and their request for services accessible through the online banking, MasterPass represents an ideal solution", declares Barbara Malagutti, Head of Marketing and Product Development, Banca Generali. "By joining this service - synonym of security and speed - Banca Generali perfectly reaffirms its digital strategy, where innovation drives the future development of the bank."

"Marco Tarantola, Deputy General Manager and Head of Retail and Private Division BNL, declares: BNL continues its constant commitment towards innovation as a key competitive asset; a service like MasterPass represents a new piece of our offer, that is now more and more focused in interpreting the new habits and lifestyles of our customers."

"MasterPass represents an important pillar of our multi-channel strategy", claims Iacopo De Francisco, Chief Commercial Officer, BPM. "We are now integrating the online and offline sales processes with the objective to grow the cross selling on our customers and to increase our attractiveness towards multi-channel users, in search of a new relationship with their bank. Payments are changing and we want to be among the protagonists of this change."

*Osservatorio Multicanalità 2013 - carried out by Nielsen, Connexia and the Politecnico di Milano School of Management; now in its seventh edition.