Tuesday, May 25, 2010

MasterCard Opens Platform to Programmers

MasterCard has taken a very pro-active (aggressive?) stance in the payment industry, with its Online Marketplace and its ATM-hunter iPhone app. Now, reports pymnts.com, MasterCard Worldwide has announced that later this year it will release Open Application Programming Interfaces (Open APIs) for third–party and independent software developers around the world. By opening up previously proprietary payments and data services, developers will be able to create a new wave of e-commerce and mobile payment applications.

The new Open API program is the first initiative from the newly created MasterCard Labs. A new developer portal will also be launched to enable developers to easily sign up for access to all of the Open APIs that MasterCard makes available will also be launched.

Through the portal MasterCard will provide developers with technical documentation, software development kits (SDKs), sample source code, reference guides, and “virtual sandboxes” for testing new and innovative applications. A developer forum designed to spur collaboration between MasterCard engineers and developers will also be an integral component of the new portal.

In addition to payments, MasterCard has identified approximately 20 platforms and services that it plans to open up to developers via the portal. These platforms and services provide additional functionality and enhancements to MasterCard’s payment capabilities. The Open APIs will further enhance the development of new applications and systems beyond those currently available, including CRMs, ERPs, online games, merchant eCommerce web sites, eWallets, mobile applications, and payroll systems.

MasterCard payment and data services could also be integrated with other data sources and functions to create “mashups,” i.e. new applications that result from combining multiple data sources.

See also MasterCard Launches Mobile App for Its New Marketplace Portal

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