Etisalat Group, the leading telecoms operator in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, today at Mobile World Congress celebrated an enduring partnership with MasterCard that has brought award-winning technologies to the market.

Over the last few years, Etisalat has used the Mobile World Congress as a platform to reinforce strong strategic partnerships and launch innovative solutions that are now being used by millions of people all over the world, said Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chief Digital Services Officer at Etisalat Group. Were now looking at ways to further enhance this successful partnership with MasterCard using the technologies of tomorrow such as the innovative mobile payment solutions we are showcasing today. .

MasterCard and Etisalat will strive to build upon the milestones of the previous year and replicate the success of their existing mobile payment solutions including recent commercial launches of services in Egypt and Nigeria.

Mobile Cashier, a mobile point of sale service which is nominated for an award at the Mobile World Congress this year. The Mobile Cashier service transforms merchants smart devices like phones or tablets into industrial-grade Point of Sales (POS) terminals, enabling them to accept Debit/Credit/Pre-Paid cards and Mobile Money accounts payments in a secure, convenient, and simple-to-use environment. Through integration with Inventory Management and CRM systems, Mobile Cashier provides a full suite of advance business tools, thereby bringing affordable and market relevant professional tools to SME and Enterprise customers.

Both MasterCard and Etisalat recognize the need for innovative new products that meet the unique needs of consumers, said Aaron Oliver, Head of Emerging Payments, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard. As mobile penetration rates across the region continue to grow, we will continue to tap into the expertise of both companies to find more ways of converging payments with mobile. Our work so far with Etisalat is just a scratch on the surface. We look forward to continuing building on our success and rolling out payment solutions that are faster, more secure, and more convenient for everyone.

He continues: Technology and innovation are key drivers of financial inclusion. At MasterCard, we believe that everyone should have access to financial services and we will continue to work alongside our partners to ensure that financial inclusion becomes a reality for everyone across the region.

Etisalat and MasterCard also won last year a global award for Best Mobile Money Deployment in the Middle East for the launch of Flous in Egypt, and Etisalat won in the Best Bank Led Mobile Money Programme at the Mobile Money Global Awards for a new innovative mobile commerce solution in Pakistan. Etisalat is already offering mobile commerce services in 11 operations of the group.

Etisalats Mobile Wallet service Flous, an industrial grade, open-loop commerce ecosystem which includes mobile payments (merchants, utility, transportation), money transfers (domestic and International), bank accounts/payment cards management, secure access, ticketing, as well as merchant payment acceptance service Mobile Cashier. The award winning service Flous has been nominated again this year by the GSMA under the category of the Best NFC/Mobile Money Product or Service.