MCB and MasterCard make online payments accessible to debit cardholders for the first time in Mauritius

This announcement was made by Binesh Mangar, Head of Cards, MCB, during a press conference. Until now, online shopping in Mauritius has only been possible with a credit card, a means within the reach of 121,000 Mauritians. As from February 2016, thanks to MCB’s partnership with MasterCard, more than 600,000 people will have access to the world’s biggest shopping mall: the world itself.

Debit cards are popular in Mauritius and most Mauritians use their debit cards in shops, supermarkets, restaurants and other retail or leisure outlets where Point of Sale (POS) devices are available. As from February 2016, any Mauritian who has an MCB MasterCard debit card will be able to shop online. In fact, the debit cards will be protected by MasterCard’s SecureCode technology, ensuring peace of mind to all online shoppers.

Ecommerce is flourishing in Mauritius. During 2015, Mauritians spent more than ZAR 450 million, (USD 32,3 mln) whilst half a million transactions were effected. The transactional volume has increased by 41% during the year, whereas the number of online transactions also increased by 44%. With the added possibility to shop online with a debit card, these ecommerce stats are bound to rise further.

The top ten most popular online stores for Mauritians to shop are: Paypal, AliExpress, Google, iTunes, Amazon, Facebook, ACCA, Air Mauritius, ASOS and Emirates Airlines.