MasterCard plans to roll out its MasterPass digital wallet platform in the UAE on mobile devices during 2014, according to a Gulf News report.

Countries where MasterPass is already available include the U.K, Australia, Spain, Italy, Canada and the U.S.

Michael Miebach, president of MasterCard Middle East and Africa, told Gulf News that, while 90 percent of payment transactions in the UAE are made by cash and checks, the UAE also has a sophisticated consumer segment that is interested in adopting "contactless payment solutions." But contactless payments are not widely available, due to a lack of infrastructure, he said.

MasterCard has around 700,000 NFC-enabled cards and 3,000 NFC-enabled POS terminals in deployment in the country, Gulf News said.

MasterCard has been working with Middle East mobile operator Etisalat Group to develop NFC-based mobile payment services in the region, according to MasterCard. In June 2013, Etisalat, MasterCard and National Bank of Egypt launched the Flous (Arabic for "money") NFC-based mobile wallet service in Egypt.

Gulf News quoted Etisalat as saying that it plans to offer NFC-based mobile payments in the UAE. Khalifa Al Shamsi, Eisalat's chief digital services officer, told the newspaper that the telco is waiting for approval from the UAE Central Bank to launch NFC services in the country.

Separately, MasterCard announced that it has expanded into seven new countries in Central and West Africa. The addition of Chad, the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and The Gambia to the MasterCard network extends the company's presence to 48 of the 55 countries that make up the African continent.

Recent deals MasterCard has concluded in Africa include a partnership with Kenya Commercial Bank to roll out 5 million EMV-compliant contactless prepaid, debit and credit cards in Kenya. In February 2013, MasterCard and Equity Bank announced a partnership with mPOS provider Ezetap to launch mPOS payments technology in Kenya.

In September 2013, MasterCard, National Bank of Egypt, Fawry and the Egyptian Banks Company launched "Phone Cash," a mobile payment service that operates independently from the network of any specific mobile company, in Egypt.