Fifth Third Bank is enabling its Android customers to seamlessly make purchases within mobile applications, in stores and online by taking advantage of its Masterpass integration, highlighting the need for financial institutions to roll out digital payments services accessible for a wide array of smartphone users.

The Fifth Third Masterpass digital wallet allows users to store their bank credit and debit cards –as well as their shipping information – securely within the designated mobile app. Once consumers have downloaded the Fifth Third Masterpass Android app, they will be able to make one-click payments within retail apps, in stores and online, thereby eliminating the need to manually type in credit card details for each purchase.

“As Apple Pay gains steam, Masterpass is answering with rapid retail acceptance rollouts and bank partnerships like this one, to speed up consumer adoption,” said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce.

“There are far more Android users than Apple users, so this is a smart move that allows consumers to use a mobile wallet at over a million retail locations.”

Cross-device payment capabilities
The newly revamped Masterpass wallet is one of the first of its kind to enable both online checkout and in-store mobile payment capabilities.

Mastercard, which has thrown its hat into the ring of in-store mobile payments with Masterpass arriving at bricks-and-mortar locations such as BJs and Subway, hopes to become a leader by tacking on vending machine connectivity, Cake Pay integration, messaging purchases and banking partnerships (see story).

Therefore, Masterpass users can leverage the platform while completing all of their day-to-day tasks, such as purchasing groceries and paying the bill at a restaurant table.

Fifth Third Bank customers who own Android smartphones will be among the first individuals to use Masterpass at more than one million NFC-enabled terminals in the United States. Masterpass can also be used on hundreds of thousands of merchants’ sites and mobile apps.

To take advantage of the new wallet, the financial institution’s customers can download the Fifth Third Masterpass app for Android devices and save all of their personal details, including shipping information, credit card numbers and payment preferences.

Once the app has been set up on users’ smartphones, Masterpass can be used across any desktop, tablet or mobile device. To determine if Masterpass payments are accepted, individuals must look out for the designated symbol near contactless payment terminals or within a mobile or online checkout experience.

During the payment process, consumers can simply sign into their Masterpass accounts, confirm their shipping and payment information and tap to complete a purchase.

Spotlight on security
The payments platform offers security features such as tokenization to ensure that all personal details remain protected. When a consumer completes a purchase in-store using the Android app, Masterpass will assign that individual a unique payment token in lieu of using the actual credit card number.

This ensures that no merchant will directly receive a shopper’s card number.

Tokenization, alongside other security measures, has been at the forefront of many financial institutions’ recent digital initiatives.

Fifth Third Bank’s recent Touch ID integration came in response to customer requests as the tech becomes more widely accepted thanks to how it makes users feel secure and brings added convenience (see story).

“Secure, tokenized mobile wallets linked to credit cards are fast becoming the norm, and the day is finally in sight when consumers will not need to carry bulky wallets and purses stuffed with multiple cards,” Mr. Kerr said.

“Because address information is stored in Masterpass and auto-populated into ecommerce, the service also reduces friction for online, mobile and in-app checkout scenarios, increasing conversion rates for retailers and brands that sell directly,” he said.

“Retailers like J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, Bass Pro Shops and many others already accept Masterpass, and the list is growing fast.”