MasterCard and Parsons School of Design Partner to Put Digital Payments On Trend through Fashion & Design Hack

The fashion and technology worlds are merging faster than ever before, and MasterCard is teaming up with The New School’s Parsons School of Design to bring a forward-thinking, design-led approach to payments technology. In a Fashion and Design Hack sponsored by the two organizations, teams of students will compete to develop solutions and build prototypes for connected commerce by embedding payments functionality into products, new designs or concepts.

The engagement with Parsons' design students pushes forward MasterCard’s vision to bring to consumers a new generation of connected commerce experiences. Consumers saw some of the possibilities in the forms of connected key fobs, a payment-enabled dress and other smart accessories late last year when MasterCard introduced its Commerce for Every Device program. The program aims to enable commerce on a wide array of consumer products across automotive, fashion, technology, wearables, and yet to be imagined categories. This gives consumers the freedom to shop using the device or thing that is most convenient to them, with the highest level of security available. With the hack, MasterCard welcomes a new generation that thinks differently about its money to innovate on this theme.

“As the world becomes more and more connected, the way consumers interact and transact is transforming,” said Sherri Haymond, senior vice president, Digital Payments and Labs, MasterCard. “What you buy and how you pay will soon blend seamlessly into your lifestyle as design, usability and technology merge together in new ways. The Fashion and Design Hack with Parsons is another way for us to integrate design-led thinking into payments innovation and tap into the creativity and ingenuity of the school’s design students.”

The teams of three students each were selected through a competitive submission process at Parsons and will compete for $15,000 in prize money and an opportunity to showcase their creations at leading MasterCard industry events. The day-long Fashion and Design Hack will take place at The New School’s University Center, in New York City, on Saturday, March 5, and students from the fashion, industrial design, product design, data visualization, and design and technology programs will participate.

“How people and products interact is changing rapidly,” said Burak Cakmak, dean of Parsons School of Fashion at The New School. “More and more, companies are turning to design to help build a more positive consumer experience. By partnering with Parsons, MasterCard is engaging with our students’ creative and innovative approaches to design viable solutions.”

Following an initial meeting to discuss research and initial concepts, the teams will have just seven hours on the day of challenge to create their prototypes before presenting it to a panel of esteemed judges, including:

• Adam Selman, Fashion Designer
• Barnett Zitron, Managing Director, MADE, a WME I IMG company
• Burak Cakmak, Dean, School of Fashion, Parsons
• Sherri Haymond, Senior Vice President, Digital Payments & Labs, MasterCard

“Technology is playing a greater and greater role in all aspects of our lives, including fashion,” said designer Adam Selman. “The connected device revolution won't necessarily be limited to our wrists. And we need creative minds to push the boundaries of their imagination and develop design concepts that are truly inventive. Through this collaboration the new generation of design students will have the opportunity to bring to life concepts that incorporate cutting-edge design with the latest in payments technology.”

The hack builds on MasterCard’s efforts to find, develop and launch new commerce applications for a generation that thinks differently about money and payments. Aware that new ideas can come from anywhere, MasterCard has founded and supported programs such as Girls4Tech, the company’s education program that showcases our payments technology and engages employees as role models and mentors, and Masters of Code, a hackathon that was developed to challenge developers to create the next big application using MasterCard’s APIs.

About MasterCard

MasterCard, www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news.

About The New School’s Parsons School of Design

Parsons School of Design is one of the leading institutions for art and design education in the world. Based in New York but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of art and design disciplines. Critical thinking and collaboration are at the heart of a Parsons education. Parsons graduates are leaders in their respective fields, with a shared commitment to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century. For more information, visit Parsons website.

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