MasterCard to launch Singapore Innovation R&D Centre
ConvergenceAsia staff
30/01/2012

MasterCard Worldwide, a global payments and technology company, has unveiled the expansion of its regional headquarter activities in Singapore to manage regional business as well as research and development of new payment solutions including emerging payments, chip, contactless, mobile and e-commerce.

The Singapore headquarters will act as a command and control centre for intellectual property (IP) management, brand management, and to spearhead and manage growth in the region. The expansion will significantly increase MasterCard’s presence in Singapore under the regional leadership team led by Vicky Bindra, President Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.

MasterCard will use Singapore’s first class infrastructure and unrivalled quality of life to source and attract talent, including senior level executives from around the world in specific practice areas such as mobile technology, e-commerce and emerging payments.

“This expansion will form a key component of MasterCard’s strategy to tap into the potential of the Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa region as a key driver of the company’s global growth,” said Bindra.

“The Singapore headquarters will spearhead MasterCard’s development of new solutions in mobile payments and remittance, to continue to grow and evolve MasterCard’s service offering as a leader in the global payments space.”

The MasterCard headquarters will also leverage Singapore’s strength in R&D and innovation for developing new payment solutions. Through its Singapore base, MasterCard will be able to enhance research and development through MasterCard Labs, Technologies Operations and a Chip Centre of Excellence (CCoE), covering the full range of upstream research, hardware and software solution development.

“Chip deployment is accelerating around the world and is becoming an increasingly important component of MasterCard’s overall business operations,” Bindra said.

“The CCoE in Singapore will help MasterCard get the benefit of skilled engineers, access to latest innovation and the ability to service the rapid growth in Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.”

The MasterCard Labs—only the third such lab in the world—will work alongside its counterparts in the US and Ireland to enhance R&D in the region, with responsibility for all work relating to conceptualisation; proof of concept; pilot studies; and ensuring that industry-leading innovative payment solutions are brought to the market faster.

Bindra said that the advantages of being based in Singapore were significant as the city had proven to be a valuable global business hub and a place where good partnerships could be formed with related industry players.

“Singapore’s concerted effort to harness talent in the region has created an exceptional knowledge-based/innovation-driven economy. MasterCard appreciates the strong focus on collaboration and innovation that has become the hallmark of the EDB and its efforts to expand the operations of multinational corporations into Asia.”

 

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