Press Office

Auckland, 29 March 2011 – Paying for small value items in New Zealand is about to become a whole lot faster and easier thanks to MasterCard.

From October 2012, PayPass, (MasterCard's contactless payment technology), will become standard on newly issued MasterCard Credit and Debit cards and merchants and retailers in 11 specific merchant categories will also be required to accept PayPass.

Albert Naffah MasterCard's Country Manager in New Zealand said PayPass was the future of payments, not just here in New Zealand, but right across the globe as cardholders and retailers looked for greater convenience from payments.

"There are over 88 million PayPass enabled MasterCard debit and credit cards being accepted at over 276,000 merchant locations around the world," said Mr Naffah.

"We know that New Zealanders want PayPass."

The announcement is part of MasterCard's Roadmap, a series of measures set to change the face of payments in New Zealand.

"By ensuring PayPass is a key component of the Roadmap, MasterCard is underlining our commitment to deliver New Zealand consumers a contactless payment system, enabling quick and efficient purchases with a simple tap of the card, available to everyone."

The merchant categories include taxis, newsagents, bookstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, grocers, pharmacies, service stations, parking lots, fast food restaurants, cafes, bars, cinemas and theatres.

"PayPass is a fast, convenient and safe way to pay for purchases of less than $80¹and involves a simple tap of a card against a contactless reader, making it ideal for use when customers would generally use cash.

"Contactless is the way to make and accept payments – it's quicker and more convenient for consumers, and allows merchants to accept more payments at peak sales times. It helps reduce the delays caused by queuing or searching for change and, with consumers already noticing the benefits, we believe it will be available across a large number of retailers in the next couple of years."

As part of the Roadmap, MasterCard is also enhancing security for the bulk of transaction types.

"For online purchases, merchants will be required to offer MasterCard SecureCode authentification, or equivalent, for items over $200 and for purchases at the point of sale, we are ensuring that all cards and terminals will be EMV capable.

"These measures will add an additional layer of security to an already robust system."

"Trust is at the very core of our business. We want our cardholders to feel safe about using their cards which is why we are continuing to invest in stringent security measures. Between now and 2013 security for online payments will be a primary focus, which is great news for merchants and consumers alike."

As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 160 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard^®, Maestro^®, and Cirrus^®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass^™ and MasterCard inControl^®. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

Statements in this press release which are not historical facts, including statements about MasterCard's plans, strategies, beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Accordingly, except for the company's ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to the company's ability to innovate and respond quickly to changes in its business environments.

Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including those set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that have been filed with the SEC during 2010 and 2011, as well as reasons including difficulties, delays or the inability of the company to achieve its strategic initiatives set forth above. Factors other than those listed above could also cause the company's results to differ materially from expected results.