MasterCard Worldwide announced the issuance of the 50 millionth MasterCard PayPass card or device, as of the fourth quarter of 2008. In the last year this more than doubles the number of cards and devices in circulation around the world.

PayPass is designed to provide a convenient payment alternative to cash. Consumers just swipe a card or even sign a receipt when making purchases of $25 or below. They just need to tap their PayPass-enabled devices on the readers in the more than 141,000 participating merchant locations worldwide.