My Vodacom app now supports Mastercard’s Masterpass

South African telecoms giant Vodacom has announced that its customers can now “buy airtime, data bundles and SMS bundles through the My Vodacom mobile application” using Mastercard’s mobile payment gateway Masterpass.

Previously, purchasing airtime required users to leave the My Vodacom app, but this change now allows Vodacom users to purchase these items and services directly from the network’s app.

Masterpass, according to a press release, aims to “support all forms of commerce in order to address the widest range of merchant experiences and consumer needs“.

The service requires a single payment card capture — which means consumers needn’t continually re-register the card — and creates what Vodacom calls a “seamless purchase experience, supported by the highest levels of security“. Masterpass also supports non-Mastercard plastic, including debit and cheque cards.

Masterpass adds a level of seamless card payments to the My Vodacom mobile app

Mastercard South Africa’s division president Mark Elliott also believes that the service will play an integral role in consumers’ always-on-the-go lifestyle.

“Consumers want to shop and pay in a way that suits their lifestyle. Whether it’s in-store, online or on-the-go, the payment experience needs to be simple and fast, while being safe and secure,” he remarks.

“This is the first Masterpass in-app feature to go live in South Africa, enabling consumers to make everyday payments like airtime top-up without having to leave the app.”

The service is currently available for users running the My Vodacom app on Android. There’s no word on whether or when Masterpass will arrive on the app’s iOS version.