Mastercard has unveiled a pilot project with phos, introducing an innovative mobile solution that lets merchants accept contactless payments on Android mobile devices without the need for any additional hardware.

The solution will enable millions of often cash-only micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to accept cashless payments and grow their businesses.

The pilot will rely on Paynetics, an e-money institution with license across the European Union, as the acquiring bank and is expected to last until April.

Partnering with approximately 200 merchants across the participating countries of the United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria and Romania will allow further refining of the point of sale solution based on actual market conditions.

Scott Abrahams, senior vice president of business development and FinTech for Mastercard in the UK, said: “Payment choice is now fundamental, and to date this has been a challenge for micro businesses; this solution by phos has been designed to meet the flexibility and cost requirements of small and micro business owners, by leveraging existing technology - their smart phone - to accept convenient and secure contactless payments.”

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