MoreMagic, an Oberthur Technologies company, has joined the MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program, which is designed to help more than 2.5 billion financially underserved consumers use mobile phones to access mainstream financial services.

Oberthur Technologies is a provider of security and identification solutions and services based on smart card technologies.

Through its MoreMagic Mobile Money offer, Oberthur Technologies enables a full suite of banking, payment and commerce services in areas where there is a lack of banking infrastructure, the company said in a news release. Relying on a comprehensive suite of applications, the company said, the solution connects a global mobile financial ecosystem that links mobile operators, financial services organizations, retail distributors, NGOs and other businesses.

Through the MasterCard program, Oberthur said, it will enhance its existing mobile money offerings and provide access to the open loop MasterCard network through a range of additional MasterCard services, including prepaid companion cards that can be used at merchants accepting MasterCard cards; virtual card accounts for e-commerce payments using the mobile money account; and person-to-person payments between subscribers of two different mobile money services.

"We are delighted to announce this partnership, which is fully aligned with our strategy," Arnaud de La Chapelle, managing director of the Solutions Business Unit, Oberthur Technologies, said in a news release. "Open loop acceptance, network integration and interoperability are critical for Mobile Money services to succeed and match the needs of unbanked populations. This partnership will leverage our best-of-breed mobile platform technology as well as MasterCard's worldwide acceptance network."

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