Mastercard says biometrics, tokenization only for online checkout by 2030

Mastercard has set its sights on transforming the online shopping experience by 2030, envisioning a checkout process where passwords and physical card numbers are no longer required.

The company aims to replace traditional authentication methods with on-device biometrics for users to authenticate purchases across devices without exposing personal data online. Mastercard plans to phase out manual card entry and static passwords by 2030, using a combination of tokenization – introduced a decade ago to safeguard sensitive payment information – and biometric authentication to enable secure checkouts.

Tokenization, first rolled out a decade ago to protect sensitive payment data, now plays a key role in the company’s goal to improve security and convenience in e-commerce. The technology aims to ensure that each transaction can be both securely tokenized and authenticated to reduce reliance on manual entry and static passwords.

“Just like the transition from signing and swiping to tapping cards, we’re now moving from manual entry and passwords to seamless and secure payments in just a few clicks. With this shift we are protecting sensitive data through advanced encryption and tokenization technologies,” says Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard.

“As payments continue to be embedded across a range of commerce experiences, we’re leading the way to a global economy that empowers everyone – providing consumers with greater control, convenience and peace-of-mind while unlocking new sales for merchants, and lowering fraud for issuers.”

Mastercard is also working on the idea of numberless physical cards as a separate entity.

According to company data, tokenization has contributed to reducing cart abandonment rates while boosting transaction approval rates by as much as 6 percent across various regions. Mastercard reports that tokenization efforts have added up to US$2 billion in global monthly sales for merchants through faster checkouts.

Currently, over 30 percent of Mastercard transactions are tokenized globally through the Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES), with certain regions, such as India, nearing full tokenization for e-commerce.

The Mastercard payment passkey service has expanded from initial rollouts in India, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, and is now being adopted by major banks, payment processors, and retailers. Another service, “Click to Pay,” which aims to simplify online purchasing, has gained traction as banks, acquirers, and global merchants adopt it to make transactions more convenient.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  ecommerce  |  Mastercard  |  Mastercard Biometric Checkout Program