Following the success of the original pilot scheme which covered the UK, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, this new phase of the partnership will not only support significant growth in the existing markets  but also roll out across eight others including Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

The partnership will support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the continent as they reopen their businesses and look for ways to attract new customers and increase their sales. Access to a credible technology solution that can streamline payment processes and avoid common acceptance issues will mean that they can start using contactless payments quickly and effectively. They will also avoid the need for additional costly hardware and can access their monies more quickly than via most other digital payment services.

Despite increasing demand from businesses and consumers for safe and sustainable alternatives to cash, over 33m businesses across Europe are still reliant on it. For many, cost has been an issue but the growth in mobile phone ownership and contactless transactions is helping to overcome this barrier. 

Phos is a simple and effective payment acceptance solution that can enable any organisation, from micro-merchants through to global enterprises, to accept payments from their customers using ‘Tap on Phone’ with an NFC-enabled Android device. By eliminating the need for a separate electronic terminal phos, an evolution of traditional POS solutions, is completely secure and has no hidden costs for the user.

The project will rely on Paynetics, an e-money institution with license across the European Union, as the acquiring bank. Partnering with merchants across the participating countries will allow further refining of this innovative POS solution based on actual market conditions.

Brad Hyett, CEO of phos, said: “Our ongoing partnership with Mastercard brings next-gen payment technology to those financially underserved merchants who want to maximise the sales potential of their customer base, and is particularly pertinent as they get back up and running post-lockdown. With a proven and credible technology solution behind us, we have purposefully built a solid network across the European region that we can use to support those businesses, for who we expect significantly increased sales. The support we are getting from the team at Mastercard on both a global and local scale will allow us to help even more businesses expand their portfolio of payment options over the coming months.”

Jason Lane, EVP, Market Development Europe at Mastercard commented: “Small businesses form the backbone of the European economy; enabling them to accept digital payments isn’t only more convenient and secure, but it’s also essential for them to operate in the new normal. As Mastercard, we are delighted to extend our partnership with phos to empower small businesses to offer more payment options as they open their doors post lockdown.”