Intel, MasterCard Bringing Mobile Payments To Online Shopping

Posted 11/14/2011 at 11:41am | by Brad Chacos

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Up until this point, the whole NFC/Mobile payments craze has largely been focused on smartphones, since, well, you’re more likely to have a cellphone than a notebook on you when you’re shopping. But hey, what about e-shopping? Intel and MasterCard just announced that they’ve teamed up to make Ultrabook a little more “Ultra” by adding mobile payments to the support list for the ultraportable laptops. You’ll still need your cellphone, though.

Confused? Don’t be. The new initiative doesn’t turn your fancy new Asus Zenbook into a mobile identifier, but will instead enable users of future generations of Ultrabooks (and Intel-powered PCs) to pay for their online purchases by tapping their MasterCard PayPass-enabled smartphone against their Intel Identity Protection Technology-packing Ultrabook. Intel says its Identity Protection Technology “can enable consumers to use strong two-factor authentication and hardware-based display protection.”

Speaking of saying things, Ed McLaughlin, MasterCard’s chief emerging payments officer, says the collaboration will bring all kinds of benefits to consumers. "The collaboration with Intel will deliver enhanced security and faster checkout – with the convenience of a simple click or tap."

So, Maximum PC readers: is this new feature cool, or is it meh? Are you looking forward to never having to enter your credit card details into a website again?