MasterCard is looking to expand its financial facilities in Hong Kong, to help speed up the adoption of digital wallet services in the country. Raj Dhamodharan, the group head for digital payments and labs at MasterCard Asia-Pacific, said that the company was aiming to offer “high-frequency transactions in market segments such as transportation, ticketing, and food and beverage”. After launching its digital service 'MasterPass' in order to allow users to make purchases through mobile applications, it is now available in 29 markets around the world, but adoption in Hong Kong has been slow. This is thought to be due to Hong Kong's residents being 'highly concerned' about online identity theft, something that was reported by MasterCard's own “Safety and Security Index” study. MasterCard will also soon have competition in Hong Kong though, with American Express set to be launching with Apple Pay later this year.Â
