Banking, commerce via the TV, anyone?

SINGAPORE – MasterCard International has announced it is working with OpenTV, a global leader in interactive television (iTV) and media solutions, to develop t-banking (television banking) for MasterCard member-financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific.

Interactive television is expected to be a hit in Asia, as consumers associate television with pleasure and relaxation while seeing computers as work tools. Through OpenTV, television viewers in the Asia-Pacific will soon be able to conduct home banking, shop at their favorite stores, and send e-mails simply by using a TV remote control.

"MasterCard is expected to become a key player in the next evolutionary stage of the payments industry – the introduction of interactive television. Home-computer ownership is rising but the TV is still the most used medium in the home. The opportunities for digital TV technology are limitless and our member-banks want to be part of it," said Jeff Portelli, senior vice president of MasterCard International’ Product Delivery Group in the Asia-Pacific.

Portelli added, "We realize that increasingly, consumers are using multiple access devices to leverage the power of the Internet. The television remote, not unlike other handheld devices such as PDAs and mobile phones, will help to facilitate commerce, thus, requiring MasterCard payment solutions. Together with OpenTV, we can now offer our members the ability to provide true home banking to their customers, from the comfort of their living rooms."

"We are just at the beginning of an explosive Asia-Pacific regional trend of interactive television and interactive applications such as t-banking and t-commerce. OpenTV has network agreements in place throughout the region and our relationship with MasterCard International further strengthens our ability to help bring commerce, payment and banking technology to the world of broadband CATV, satellite and digital terrestrial networks," said Jeffrey Brown, managing director for the Asia-Pacific of OpenTV.

Brown added, "We recognize that MasterCard is leading the payments industry through its ownership of the real and virtual world. MasterCard’s commitment to the region, its financial institutions and e-commerce fit well with OpenTV’s commitment to the region, its broad existing customer base and focus on helping networks migrate from analog technology to the world of real digital interactive TV, t-commerce and t-banking."

MasterCard International has the most comprehensive portfolio of payment brands in the world. More than 1.7 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation today.