Mastercard has launched a new suite of frictionless solutions to enable merchants to adapt to the new touchless economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new Shop Anywhere and AI Powered Drive Through offerings are designed to provide low touch, high engagement experiences for retailers and their end consumers.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Shop Anywhere platform is designed to offer personalised shopping experiences in stores based on consumers’ needs. It is supported by AI and computer vision technology partner Accel Robotics.
This platform is said to eliminate the current points of friction through robust inventory and participating shopper analytics. It provides consumers with secure payments.
The AI Powered Drive Through platform is said to enable quick service restaurant brands to transform their drive through or drive in interactions via vehicle recognition, voice ordering, and artificial intelligence.
Mastercard is offering this drive through the platform in partnership with SoundHound and Rekor Systems.
These solutions, which are said to be applicable and adaptable to any retail environment, will be first deployed by the company with a range of retailers and sport, entertainment and hospitality partners including Circle K, Delaware North, Dunkin’ and White Castle.
Mastercard Retail Innovation senior vice-president Stephane Wyper said: “As retailers and consumers navigate through one of the most disruptive periods in modern history, it’s clear that traditional business operations will need to evolve quickly.
“We’re committed to supporting our retail partners as they look to meet the unforeseen challenges posed by this new normal and provide their customers with a more digitally enabled, touchless, and secure retail experience.”
Meanwhile, Mastercard recently partnered with OpenTable to launch Dine Local, a month-long homage to dining out, with over 200 restaurants offering special offers to diners in the UK and Ireland.
Last week, the company extended its partnership with Phos to roll out a mobile payment solution to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Europe.
