Tappy Technologies, a Hong Kong-based wearable and digital payments solution provider, announces its strategic partnership with financial technology pioneer, Mastercard, in the Asia Pacific region to embed payment functionality into fashion wearables. This partnership with Mastercard would enable Tappy to integrate its technology platform with Mastercard’s Digital Enablement Service (MDES) tokenization platform for tokenizing payment credentials across mechanical and digital watches to enable contactless payments. Having partnered with Tappy, Timex Group is expected to debut its first payment-enabled timepieces across a variety of collections in the first half of 2020.

"Fashion-conscious consumers are now looking to their favorite brands to add payment capabilities to their watches, jewelry and other accessories. Our partnership with Mastercard means that fashion brands can now easily respond to consumer needs and take full advantage of this fast-growing trend," says Wayne Leung, CEO, Tappy Technologies.

The two global leaders are expected to benefit significantly from this partnership. Tappy is connected to banking partners and card networks with operations that span across North America, APAC and EMEA. Its white-labeled digital offerings and hardware solutions comply with industry security standards and

The innovation Tappy offers, fueled by Mastercard's payments and secure tokenization technology, is a great example of how the power of partnerships is expanding the fintech landscape

are certified by industry bodies including PCI and EMVCo. On the other hand, Mastercard focuses on fintech partnerships through Mastercard Engage, which is a successful global program that identifies qualified technology partners and connects them with mastercard customers. It has brought the company in proximity to technology providers like Tappy who offers payment experiences in the wearables and fashion arena.

Commenting on this partnership, Ben Gilbey, Senior Vice President, Digital Payments and Labs, Asia Pacific, says, "The innovation Tappy offers, fueled by Mastercard's payments and secure tokenization technology, is a great example of how the power of partnerships is expanding the fintech landscape. Mastercard's foray into wearables is the testimony of our support to drive contactless payments. Through the Mastercard Accelerate platform, we have a suite of solutions to help fintechs rise to the next level and scale their business at increased speed with access to powerful resources, tools and insights".