The number of transactions processed through the MasterCard Gateway Services (MiGS) in Asia/Pacific Middle East and Africa (APMEA), which surpassed the 100 million mark last year, continues to provide merchants with a cost-effective way to expand their footprint into the APMEA regions.

Posting a 71.1% increase year-on-year in 2008, in terms of gross dollar volume (in US Dollars), these transactions represented a corresponding 53% increase.

“MiGS offers us a highly secure and robust platform that is flexible and easy to integrate. At an operational level, it provides a unified platform for our pan-regional presence, thereby eliminating additional expenses,” said Wong Kok Kit, Chief Financial Officer, Zuji, in a press release furnished InfoTech.

The news report said, “The APMEA region is the most vibrant for MasterCard in terms of usage of the MiGS platform. As of the first quarter of 2009, more than 100 key customer financial institutions across the region were already active users of MiGS, as were the more than 10,500 merchants – including some of the best known brands and ranging from airlines, travel agencies, satellite and cable TV companies, telecommunication companies, insurance and government services.”

SHOPPING TREND

MasterCard's latest Insights Report, Online Shopping in Asia/Pacific - Patterns, Trends and Future Growth reported that the growth of e-commerce is poised to continue and is expected to increase at an annual rate of almost 25%, with online sales reaching $168.7 billion by 2011.

Factors driving this trend range from increased Internet penetration and income levels to various cultural influencers. According to the analysis conducted, there is a very strong relationship (an 87.1% correlation) between online shopping and these factors.

As shoppers choose the one-click convenience of online shopping over crowded shopping malls, according to the report, 87% of them regard secure payment facilities as one of the most important factors affecting their tendency to shop online. Clearly, putting in place a secure online payment facility for consumers has become a key business priority for merchants as well as financial institutions.

MiGS is MasterCard’s integrated, highly-flexible, turnkey solution for processing all card-not-present transactions including e-commerce, call centers, IVR, m-commerce, batch processing and electronic bill payment. It can be used on any device, including personal computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants and point of sale terminals.

“As online shopping gains ground, merchants as well as financial institutions are looking for secure payment solutions that will offer consumers the necessary peace of mind when making purchases online. Besides offering cardholders a safe payment platform, MiGS also provides merchants with value-added tools for day-to-day management of their e-commerce transactions and reduces operating costs for the banks,” said Poon Khye Wei, vice president, Product Sales and Delivery, Asia/Pacific, MasterCard Worldwide.