Gemalto Enables EMV Payment for Telefonica-MasterCard JV in Brazil

Gemalto announced that it will supply prepaid EMV payment cards to Mobile Financial Services (MFS), the joint venture formed by Telefónica and MasterCard Worldwide. The launch is part of Zuum, a new payment service offered by Telefónica’s Vivo brand, which aims to provide financial inclusion for the unbanked population of Brazil.

Gemalto will also provide MFS with all the personalization services associated with EMV prepaid cards as well as tamper evident packaging and fulfillment to point-of-sale. With Vivo’s huge coverage of more than 90% of the Brazilian population, the service offers widespread accessibility for the vast majority of consumers.

With Zuum, Telefónica’s Vivo customers will be able to set up a pre-paid account which can be accessed either through their mobile phone or a regular prepaid EMV MasterCard payment card, provided by Gemalto. The physical card provided by Gemalto can be used to make purchases in Brazil at over 1.8 million EMV-enabled merchants and to withdraw money in ATMs.

“We relied on Gemalto to help us quickly launch the first of several innovative solutions that will allow mobile subscribers with or without bank accounts to make secure payment and money transfers conveniently with pre-paid m-payment services,” said Marcos Etchegoyen, president of MFS. “Our goal is to promote financial inclusion for unbanked Brazilians and to extend secure payments via mobile devices to all consumers who seek alternative payment services with the lowest possible cost.”

“Gemalto has been a major provider of secure payment cards and personalization services since the beginning of EMV migration in Latin America, with a strongly differentiated offer in Brazil, so we had the expertise to support MFS in achieving its ambitious financial services goals,” said Eric Megret-Dorne, senior vice president of secure transactions at Gemalto Latin America. “The prepaid segment is advancing new business frontiers and the MFS project is in keeping with the trend towards the issuance of payment cards by a wide diversity of players.”