Dive Brief:
- MasterCard is teaming with fashion designer Adam Selman to produce a variety of clothing and accessories that will double as mobile payments devices.
- The company says it will bring mobile payments technologies to any accessory or item that can support a microchip for enhanced consumer convenience.
- Additional partners on the project include General Motors, wearables specialist Nymi, jeweler maker Ringly, and Bluetooth location device manufacturer TrackR.
Dive Insight:
MasterCard announced a new initiative at the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas this week that could soon help integrate mobile wallets (almost) seamlessly into consumers’ wardrobes and accessories. Operating under the idea that anything that can contain a microchip can be used to conduct commerce, the project will integrate mobile payments capabilities into clothing from fashion designer Adam Selman and other wearables.
“As more and more ‘things’ become connected, consumers will have endless possibilities when it comes to how they pay, and will need all of their devices to work seamlessly together,” Ed McLaughlin, MasterCard’s chief emerging payments officer, said in a release. “This program eliminates the boundaries of how we pay by delivering a secure digital payment experience to virtually anything—rings, fitness and smart bands, car key fobs, apparel and whatever comes along next.”
Selman has so far prototyped two dresses, gloves, sunglasses, and a handbag that contain microchips for payment. MasterCard is also working with Ringly, General Motors, Nymi and TrackR on wearables and accessories that integrate with Capital One’s mobile wallet. As the initiative brings form and function together, MasterCard is also reinforcing its brand as a supporter of cutting-edge fashion, alongside its annual sponsorship of World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto, which ended Sunday.
