With security, mobility and convenience all competing to take precedence – and with each being paramount in the eyes of the public – juggling priorities can be a challenge. That’s why it’s time for an innovative approach that solves all parts of the puzzle at once.
From a global perspective, the future of digital payment security lies in innovations like Mastercard’s Identity Check Mobile, an app-based authentication solution that lets users select their own biometric identifiers as highly personalised security measures.
“Biometric identifiers” means the ability to choose between identity recognition markers such as fingerprints, software-powered facial recognition technology, iris and even voice when selecting how you choose to protect your financial information. Each available method makes use of features unique to the customer, so they’re nearly impossible to replicate – you can’t fake a fingerprint. In the interests of privacy the data is encrypted, securely stored on the user’s device, and has no other purpose.
This heightened mobile security is also fast and easy, which is an important point – ironclad security can always be achieved if you’re willing to put up with inconvenience and expense. Instead, Mastercard Identity Check Mobile is “frictionless”, intuitive, multiple-use, available at every touchpoint, consumer-friendly and portable.
It’s the best of all worlds and it’s essential: by 2018 cardless fraud rates are expected to become nearly four times higher than instances of fraud where a card is present.
Thanks to Mastercard Identity Check Mobile a financial institution can use its mobile banking app to offer customers a facility where their own mobile phone, shielded by biometrics, stands between their account and any attempted fraud when making payments.
For example, imagine you’ve made an online purchase using a linked credit or debit account. As you submit payment, your phone prompts you to place your finger on the screen to read your fingerprint (or to take a selfie to read your face). Once successfully verified the transaction goes ahead – secure and simple.
The issuer is also aided in the event of suspicious online and in-store activity, sending notifications to the customer’s phone and verifying the transaction with biometric authentication.
For merchants, they can use IDCM whenever there is a need to identify a customer, such as at app login. It simplifies the consumer journey, making it as seamless as possible.
There are no vulnerable static passwords. Biometrics are encrypted and stored in the phone’s hardware “vault”. There are no predictable passwords to guess. Real-time analytics remain on permanent alert, watching over all payments. And Identity Check works across multiple devices and operating systems.
For merchants and issuers, Mastercard Identity Check Mobile reduces costs and drives higher completion rates while offering customers a sense of security.
It spurs revenue and brand preference, lowers fraud and operative overheads; it often aids compliance requirements, as two-factor authentication becomes a regulatory mandatory in many markets.
All this information and technology is used for one purpose only – to protect users and to facilitate the payment experience.
Tools like this are necessary to address consumers’ security fears, increase their satisfaction levels, reduce time and money spent on password resets and support issues; and to manage legal consent and data privacy evaluations.
Having been custom made for financial institutions, Mastercard Identity Check Mobile represents the future of digital payment systems, showcasing the kind of innovation and blending of physical and virtual payment that’s expected in the market.