Judopay, Mastercard Team With UK Pharmacy Network For Payments

Mobile-first payments startup Judopay is collaborating with payments giant Mastercard to bring secure digital payments to The Pharmacy Centre in the U.K. The collaboration is intended to help facilitate the movement of medical supplies to the people who need it most during the pandemic.

“We believe that it’s imperative the general public, particularly the most vulnerable, get the essential medical supplies they need without risk of infection when making payments. This partnership enables pharmacies to provide services online and reach a wider audience, while also innovating and streamlining workflows to create new services,” Oliver Harris, director at The Pharmacy Centre , said in a statement on Thursday (May 21).

The partnership gives The Pharmacy Centre a way to accept payments using the PaybyLink solution. It is intended to help people during the lockdown get essential medical supplies without having to visit pharmacies in person.

Setting up Judopay was fast for The Pharmacy Centre and the next step will be to expand capabilities to develop an eCommerce network for pharmacies and other providers of medical services. Mastercard is supporting the effort by enabling its remote PaybyLink, as well as offering other ways to pay digitally.

“Our partnership with The Pharmacy Centre is solving a clear challenge in the market by removing any potential risk of infection when customers are purchasing their essential medical goods. Judopay is leading the way with The Pharmacy Centre to enable pharmacies of all sizes to scale and innovate online,” said Judopay CEO Jeremy Nicholds.

Aside from Mastercard, the mobile payments platform Judopay also has partnerships with Discover and Visa. The digital payments method available on the Crown Commercial Services Digital Marketplace and other vendors, like KFC, JustPark, Young’s Pubs and Chip.

The Pharmacy Centre provides websites and apps for more than 1,500 independent pharmacies. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MedicineChest based in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.

“We’re proud to be partnering with Judopay and The Pharmacy Centre to ensure customers across the UK can access pharmacy supplies online and pay in a safe and secure way,” said Scott Abrahams, senior vice president, business development and FinTech at Mastercard.

In a recent Trend Talk, PYMNTS spoke with Kelly Switt, director of FSI strategy, ecosystem and strategic partnerships at Red Hat. She said a “year of infrastructure” is imminent as technical and business road-mapping work together.