RBL Bank, Mastercard launch app for contactless payments

RBL Bank and Mastercard on April 15 announced their partnership to launch a mobile based consumer-friendly payment solution – the Pay by Bank App. Claiming it to be a first-of-its-kind payment functionality in India, RBL Bank said that the app will allow its account holders to make contactless transactions globally through their mobile banking app both in-store and online. This functionality will be available at all Mastercard merchants, worldwide who accept contactless and online payments.

To provide enhanced security, ‘Pay by Bank App’ ensures that bank consumer’s payment credentials are never exposed to the merchant, making the transaction completely secure, the companies said in a joint statement. Customers will continue to receive the Mastercard consumer protection benefits that they currently enjoy on their debit cards. Additionally, the solution offers personalized transaction controls that enable bank’s customers to dictate how, where and when their payment credentials are used, it added.

Through this solution, merchants benefit from increased approval rates as each transaction will be authenticated by the account holders, the statement said, adding that the merchants will benefit from increased volume of contactless transactions as more account holders leverage their mobile app for making payments.

Additional capabilities supported by the app include bill payments and personal payments via the mobile banking application that are already widely available across South East Asian markets.