Frankfurt Airport Event Lifts Visibility of MasterCard® PayPass™ in Germany

Food Retailers in New A380 Airbus Terminal Offer Contactless Payments

The new CD terminal at Frankfurt Airport is hosting two of the biggest developments in air travel: the A380 Airbus, the world’s largest airplane, seating 525 people on two decks, and MasterCard® PayPass™, which is now accepted for payment at food retailers on the A380’s economy boarding level. Successfully introduced at 16 outlets in the airport earlier this year, PayPass service was expanded to the new terminal in June and welcomed with a press event that drew wide print and television coverage.

“The opening of this splendid new terminal and the excitement surrounding the A380 offered a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the speed and convenience that PayPass offers,” says Arne Pache, senior business manager, PayPass Europe.

Flying High

Holders of the Lufthansa Miles & More MasterCard Card with PayPass, issued by BayernLB Bank and its wholly owned subsidiary Deutsche Kreditbank, were the first to use the new contactless technology in Germany, Pache notes. The leading co-branded portfolio in Germany, with five times the average spend per card versus all other credit cards, this 420,000-card MasterCard M/Chip™ PayPass portfolio was recently flipped from a magstripe Visa platform. (See PayPass Newsletter, 1Q08 edition.) What’s more, the Lufthansa Miles and More frequent-flyer program is one of Europe’s most successful, with more than 14 million members.

“Lufthansa operates both the Frankfurt and Munich airports,” says Pache, “and their cardholders are serious travelers. So our acceptance strategy has been to focus initially on the Frankfurt and Munich airports, where PayPass speed and convenience can help travelers make their newspaper and refreshment purchases quickly and get to their gates on time.”

Now, Lufthansa Miles & More MasterCard cardholders flying the A380 will also be able to make purchases at three brand-new bars on the lower of the two boarding levels in the CD terminal. (The A380 boards on two levels simultaneously. The upper level serves first-class and business passengers, who receive complimentary refreshments.)

Honored Guests

The press event, which took place in the terminal on the restricted side of the security checkpoint, featured a live demonstration of PayPass technology, attended by several honored guests.

“The introduction of MasterCard PayPass in Germany is a further milestone in building the future of payments,” said Peter Ehmke, general manager, MasterCard Deutschland. “As of second quarter 2008, nearly 37 million MasterCard PayPass cards and devices and more than 122,000 acceptance locations worldwide clearly demonstrate the success of our system. Merchants and acquirers are expressing great interest in MasterCard PayPass. It is planned that vending machines at Frankfurt Airport will also be equipped with PayPass technology.”

Stefan Weber, general manager of CMMC Carl Mayer’s Mobile Catering GmbH, which runs fixed and mobile food-and-beverage stations at Frankfurt Airport, spoke on behalf of merchants. “PayPass users spend double the amount compared with customers paying with cash,” he noted. “In particular, the international passengers endorse this convenient system. Therefore, we also expect to be successful at our shops at the airports in Berlin and Düsseldorf.”

Commenting for the acquiring side, Helmut Schmid, general manager, B+S Card Service GmbH, said, “Contactless payments offer our customers many opportunities. Still this year, we will offer all our partners a PayPass solution consisting of a terminal and a back-end process.”

In addition, Thomas Haarmann from TeleCash GmbH, the largest terminal operator in Germany, announced his company’s commitment to PayPass at the event. “A key success factor for MasterCard PayPass from our perspective will be that consumers can experience the ease, convenience, and safety of contactless payments themselves,” he said. “Therefore, as a MasterCard partner, we will invest in the further development of the PayPass infrastructure.”

Full Coverage

The event certainly captured the attention of the media, spawning wide coverage in dozens of articles in respected consumer and business outlets. In addition, Pache was interviewed by a TV crew from a major German network for a regional broadcast. That spot went so well that the network returned the following day to conduct another interview for the national channel.

“The coverage cast PayPass in an extremely positive light,” says Pache. “The event was very successful from our point of view. It definitely helped us spread the word about the speed and convenience of MasterCard PayPass to German consumers.”

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