MasterCard says Singapore is ready for mobile payment
The latest MasterCard Mobile Payment Readiness Index (MPRI) has identified Singapore, Canada, the United States, Kenya and South Korea as the most prepared markets for mobile payment adoption. The Index indicates that while it’s early stages for mobile payments adoption, all markets globally – either highly scaled and integrated ones like the United Kingdom or compact and technology-driven ones like Singapore – are making progress towards reaching an inflection point where mobile devices account for an appreciable share of the payments mix.
Singapore’s leading status on MPRI (scores 45.6) is fuelled by its top ranking in the infrastructure component, its mobile penetration rate above the MPRI average, 100 per cent of the population covered by a mobile network and strong regulatory and financial systems. The other Southeast Asia countries assessed in the Index are Philippines (scores 34.7), Malaysia (score 34.3), Thailand (scores 31.6), Vietnam (scores 30.1) and Indonesia (scores 24.0).
MPRI is a unique, in-depth, multicomponent view of 34 markets worldwide, gauging these markets’ preparedness for mobile payments in three varieties: mobile at point of sales (POS), mobile commerce (m-commerce) and person-to-person funds transfer (P2P). The findings of MPRI will reveal the partnerships among the key players such as financial institutions, telcos, governments and technology providers in the mobile payments ecosystem are essential to accelerate the commercialization of mobile payments.
by Alice Lee
