Mastercard has partnered with noon Payments, one of the biggest payment service providers in the Middle East and North Africa, to bring its Payment Passkey Service to the region and accelerate secure online checkout for shoppers.
Beginning in the United Arab Emirates, noon Payments will be the first in the region to offer this solution to its customers, followed by a wider roll out.
What is the Mastercard Payment Passkey Service?
The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service streamlines e-commerce and revolutionizes the consumer journey. Using device-based biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial scans, payment passkeys replace one-time passwords (OTPs) to make online transactions not only faster and more convenient, but also more secure against fraud and scams. They offer consumers the peace of mind that they will not lose or inadvertently share their password or OTP.
Mastercard’s research shows that 90 percent of consumers worldwide believe biometrics are more secure and convenient than passwords. Compared to OTPs, which are increasingly vulnerable to online scams such as phishing, SIM swapping and message interception, payment passkeys make transactions not only faster, but also more secure against fraud and scams.
The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service leverages Mastercard’s tokenization technology, which also replaces the real card number with a token, to ensure that no data is shared with third parties and is useless to fraudsters and scammers.
How it works
With payment passkeys, shoppers can choose their Mastercard card when checking out as a guest, or select a card already stored securely on file with a merchant. To confirm the payment, they can use biometric authentication like fingerprint or iris scan features on their device. Upon successful authentication, the transaction is instantly completed.
For e-commerce players, this means fewer abandoned carts and a lower risk of fraud, while consumers can benefit from faster checkouts and peace of mind. According to a recent report, ecommerce is becoming increasingly popular in the MENA region, with the market value estimated at $29 billion in 2023 and expected to hit $49.8 billion by 2028.
Read: Mastercard, Saudia partner to empower Saudi female entrepreneurs with ‘Her Voice’ podcast
“Mastercard is committed to building a robust digital payment ecosystem where every transaction is secured,” said Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard. “Today, billions of people comfortably use their face or biometrics to unlock their devices, bypassing passwords altogether. We’re pushing our technology to deliver even more with payment passkeys – bringing an even better digital experience and offering security peace-of-mind for consumers and businesses alike. Partnering with noon Payments marks a significant step towards advancing payment authentication in the region,” he added.
“We’re excited to collaborate with global tech leaders like Mastercard to enhance payment experiences for our customers and merchants. A key part of our mission is to empower local merchants and consumers with innovative solutions. The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service boosts data protection and simplifies online checkout. We look forward to helping noon Payments’ merchants and customers fully benefit from this exciting new service,” said Hisham Zarka, CTO, noon.
For more news on banking and finance, click here.
