Mastercard, Amazon forge digital payment partnership for Middle East, Africa

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Amazon Payment Services (NASDAQ:AMZN) entered a multiyear partnership to digitize payment acceptance in the Middle East and Africa, encompassing countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, and UAE, the companies said on Monday.
Amazon Payment Services will adopt Mastercard Gateway — a single touchpoint for payment processing — as a payment solution available in 40 markets in the region. The integration of the solution will allow merchants to offer fast, seamless, and secure transactions, Mastercard said.
The two companies have also signed an innovation agreement to develop Secure Card on File, Click to Pay, and token authentication services to provide multi-rail checkout options to merchants and a faster checkout for end customers.
The partnership is intended to benefit Amazon Payment Services merchants, including Amazon online stores for shoppers across the UAE and Egypt. It will also open opportunities for building synergies with entities such as telcos and governments to improve their checkout options, the companies said.
Mastercard (MA) stock edged down 0.2% and Amazon (AMZN) stock dropped 1.1% in Monday midday trading.

Tags: MA