The Malaga town that is testing a pioneering online payment system in Spain, thanks to its long name

The northern Malaga province town of Villanueva del Trabuco is set to become one of the European benchmarks of digitisation of online commerce. This is because Mastercard, one of the most important financial services multinationals and one of the main sponsors of world-class events such as the Champions League, has chosen this town as the only municipality in Spain to test 'Click to Pay', an innovative digital payment system that aims to eliminate the need to enter data manually for each online purchase.

A recent study by the company revealed that the online shopping process is often tedious. The study showed that 91 per cent of Spaniards still manually enter their full address and the 16 digits of their card in each of their online purchases.

To try to reduce the time spent making online purchases, Mastercard has decided to carry out its pilot project in 16 towns across Europe, all of them with long names, which makes the task of online shopping more laborious. These include Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav in the Czech Republic and Wasterhaar-Vriezenveensewijk in the Netherlands.

The town hall has stated that participation in the project does not involve any cost for the town, although it is a "unique opportunity" to appear in the company's promotional campaigns and to be a reference in this field at an international level. It also added that the Mastercard representatives showed great interest in visiting the town.

Mayor Juan Luis Gallardo has welcomed the project, highlighting the visibility that it means for the town: "We are very grateful to Mastercard for having selected us, along with other municipalities in Europe, to test this new fast, simple and secure way of paying online. We are very proud of the name of our town, but we also recognise the value of a good shortcut and the usefulness of technology to make our lives easier and safer," he said.

Mastercard has said that the benefits of the 'Click to Pay' system include the process that replaces the card number with a series of random identifiers or 'tokens'. This not only protects consumers from potential fraud, but also safeguards retailers from cyber threats and data breaches.

It seeks to eliminate barriers in the online purchasing process, allowing for more agile and secure payments. According to Mastercard data, 75 per cent of Spanish consumers have abandoned a purchase due to payment complications. The implementation of 'Click to Pay' aims to reduce these obstacles, offering a smoother and more efficient user experience.

With this initiative, the inhabitants of Villanueva del Trabuco will be able to enjoy a more advanced payment system, optimising times and reinforcing the security of each transaction. Participation in this pilot project positions the town as a benchmark in technological innovation, demonstrating that even the smallest localities can lead great advances in the digitisation of e-commerce.