• Mastercard Pay on Demand will be launched with the Samsung Knox team in the Middle East and Africa in early 2020 and expand to other markets later this year;
• The platform allows consumers to access devices in a pay-as-you-go model.

Mastercard and Samsung announced this Thursday (12), a global partnership to foster further digital inclusion for consumers and small businesses in emerging markets. The partnership, carried out through Mastercard’s Pay on Demand platform, aims to bring together financial institutions, original equipment manufacturers and telecommunication companies to solve issues that have limited device financing in these regions, according to a company press release.

Allowing consumers to access devices in a pay-as-you-go model, the platform will be launched with the Samsung Knox team in the Middle East and Africa in early 2020 and expand to other markets later this year.

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“At Mastercard, we see a connected world where opportunity and prosperity are possible for everyone, everywhere,” stated Jorn Lambert, executive vice president, Digital Solutions at Mastercard. “The Pay on Demand platform enables us to deliver on that vision and foster financial inclusion, giving consumers an opportunity to participate in digital commerce. By combining Samsung’s device management and security expertise with Mastercard’s innovative technology, we are creating an ecosystem that can deliver measurable, positive impact to the communities we serve.”

Working in a four-component system, the Pay on Demand platform operates lending marketplace – by bringing together lenders who provide consumers with access to affordable device financing; security – by leveraging Samsung’s embedded Knox security platform to ensure the safety of consumer data and transactions; data – by providing tools for consumers to analyze and build their credit history from usage data; and payment, in which Mastercard, in partnership with telcos, enables consumers to get virtual card numbers that can be used to pay for their device and make transactions everywhere Mastercard is accepted.

“Our vision is to inspire the world and shape the future through transformative ideas and technologies,” KC Choi, executive vice president, Global Mobile B2B at Samsung said in the press release. “This partnership with Mastercard is our way of making that future available to everyone by helping to close the digital divide, especially in emerging economies and countries.”