Mastercard has announced that next week it will launch an innovative new system to combat cryptocurrency fraud, which is also becoming increasingly common on its payment circuits. The new system, which will be called Crypto Secure, has the ability to visually assess the risk associated with a given transaction through artificial intelligence and data on the chain, allowing card issuers to decide on the necessary actions.

The service will be built with the help of CipherTrace, a blockchain security startup acquired by Mastercard last year. This announcement goes in the direction imposed by many European and US government authorities who see the growing phenomenon of cryptocurrency fraud as a worryingly increasing danger.

“Inswitch, a fintech technology company with focus on embedded solutions for banking and payments, and Mastercard International Incorporated have partnered to design and deliver digital payment solutions and issuing programs starting with selected countries across LAC. Inswitch will start issuing cards as a Mastercard principal member in Mexico, with plans to expand quickly to key markets in LAC and other regions in the future. This collaboration will allow the company to extend its value proposition by offering digital and physical Mastercard branded cards for a broad range of applications across industries: “Now our clients can issue branded cards to support different use cases: digital wallets, Buy now pay later, supplier payments, working capital for corporate expenses or cash management necessities; among others,” said Ronald Alvarenga, Inswitch’s CEO.”

“Prophius today announced the launch of its PayContactless solution certified by Mastercard – a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small and micro enterprises in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and other key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa while supporting consumers’ preference for safe and seamless digital payment. PayContactless leverages Mastercard Tap on Phone, a simple and cost-effective digital payment technology developed for micro and small businesses and tradesmen who tend to operate in a cash economy due to the costs and complexity of obtaining traditional point of sale devices. The solution turns Android smartphones into secure payment acceptance devices for contactless cards, mobile wallets and even smartwatches — with no additional equipment or set-up costs.”

“ChargebackZero is partnering with Ethoca, a Mastercard company, to help merchants minimize chargebacks, lower consumer transaction confusion, and share details of confirmed fraud and dispute information. As part of the integration, we would prevent chargebacks using an alert mechanism. These Chargeback alerts are like a warning signal of an impending chargeback. The alerts enable merchants to identify and resolve customer disputes via near real-time communication with the customer’s issuing bank. Businesses receive notifications through the ChargebackZero dashboard that combines multiple forms of alerts from various card issuers with unique Chargeback zero dispute management tools.”

“Consumers and businesses in Dubai will soon be able to make seamless and safe contactless payments for select government and private sector services, thanks to a strategic partnership between Mastercard and noqodi, a leading fintech company owned by emaratech Group, part of the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Noqodi’s digital omni-channel payments, including Tap on Phone, will be powered by Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS). Enabled by MPGS technology, customers can simply tap their card or device to make payments through a merchant’s phone. One of the foremost online technologies, payment solutions and consulting companies in the Arab world, noqodi provides fully automated payment services to merchants, promoting a cashless society. Offering its industry-leading global payment gateway technology for businesses of all sizes, partners and acquirers, Mastercard will become a trusted partner to noqodi, helping to strengthen its payment capabilities.”

“Mastercard leveraged all the five senses, from sight, sound, smell to touch and taste in its marketing game plan.  Mastercard shared insights on current marketing paradigm and reviewed multi-sensory marketing strategy which will affect the future marketing model during a recent marketing summit.”

“Mastercard and LMK Resources Pakistan (Private) Limited (LMKR) have formalized a strategic partnership to oversee the implementation of the country’s first open-loop transit payment solution in a bid to further accelerate Pakistan’s digital transformation. The solution can be implemented through the country’s entire transit infrastructure, including rapid transit bus networks and e-tolling systems. The collaboration will allow commuters to top up and pay for transit fares through their debit and credit cards or digital wallets without the need to buy separate tickets.”

“Coming up on one year from the official announcement, retailers and card issuers rejoiced at Mastercard’s announcement that by 2024, issuers will no longer be required to use magnetic stripes on their credit and debit cards. In response to growing security concerns for storing customer credit card information on a magnetic stripe, EMV chip-based cards have cemented themselves as the new standard for storing sensitive account information and facilitating consumer transactions. Even before the rise of the magnetic stripe, engineers had long foreseen chip-powered cards as the future; only now is a post-magstripe world coming to fruition as credit card companies permanently phase out the dated technology.”

“Mastercard Inc. is facing pushback from retailers over a new product that allows customers to pay off their purchases in installments.  The payments giant has begun telling merchants and their banks that it will charge retailers 3% of a purchase price each time a consumer opts to use the new program, according to people familiar with the matter. Retailers will be automatically enrolled for Mastercard’s new buy-now, pay-later service, though they will have a chance to opt out.”

“Major crypto exchange Binance has partnered with Mastercard to launch a prepaid card for the residents of Argentina. In a Thursday announcement, Binance said the card will allow its clients in Argentina to use Bitcoin, BNB and other cryptocurrencies to make purchases as well as ATM withdrawals in fiat wherever Mastercard is accepted — roughly 90 million merchants globally and online. Argentine cardholders can also earn up to 8% back in cryptocurrency from certain purchases. According to Binance, the introduction of the card — expected to be “widely available in the coming weeks” — was part of the company’s efforts to further the global adoption of crypto.”

“Instant, easy and responsible: buy now, pay later program continues to expand and reinforces commitment to consumer protections  Mastercard has welcomed a raft of new global partners to its innovative Mastercard Installments program and is expanding it further to support small businesses in the U.S. Illustrating the demand for powerful buy now, pay later (BNPL) experiences from familiar and trusted brands, several new partners are providing support for the program, including HSBC, J.P.Morgan and NatWest in the U.K.; Cross River, Evolve Bank & Trust, Jifiti , Live Oak Bank, MOCA Financial and WebBank in the U.S.; and Saudi National Bank (SNB) in Saudi Arabia. The program taps the power and scale of the Mastercard network, which connects to more than 90 million merchants globally, to instantly support secure BNPL payments at checkout, both in-store and online.  In addition to delivering more payment choice, Mastercard Installments is built on responsible lending practices and supports shoppers with an enhanced set of consumer protections, data transparency and insight-driven programs. Through technology, data and insights, and its consulting expertise, Mastercard is creating a more intelligent way to provide installment lending at scale.”

“D-Wave Systems Inc., a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, and the only company building both quantum annealing and gate-based quantum computers, and Mastercard today announced a multi-year strategic alliance to champion the acceleration and adoption of quantum computing solutions. Mastercard and D-Wave will collaborate on the research and development of quantum-hybrid applications in areas such as consumer loyalty and rewards, cross-border settlement and fraud management. The collaboration will use D-Wave’s annealing quantum computers and quantum hybrid solvers through the Leap™ quantum cloud service to deliver real-time access to quantum applications safely and securely powered by Mastercard’s network.”

“There are plenty of organizations that are dabbling with AI, but relatively few have decided to go all in on the technology. One that is decidedly on that path is Mastercard. Employing a combination of acquisitions and internal capabilities, Mastercard has the clear objective of becoming an AI powerhouse. Just what does that term mean, and how is it being applied at the company?”

“Today, the largest online payment company in Finland, Paytrail, and Mastercard announce that their collaboration has reached new heights as they’re now enabling more than one million open banking payments every month, led by European open banking leader Aiia, a Mastercard company. Since 2019, Paytrail and Aiia have been collaborating to accelerate open banking powered payments in the eCommerce checkout flow. Powered by Mastercard’s open banking platform, Paytrail enables eCommerce for more than 20,000 merchants and online shoppers, providing greater choice with new payment options and providing a more hassle-free online checkout experience.”

“Mastercard and Paysafe today announce the integration of Mastercard Send into Paysafe’s payments platform, enhancing the payout capabilities offered to Paysafe’s merchant customers in the UK and EU. The addition of Mastercard Send is the latest extension of the ongoing global relationship between the two companies which supports multiple Paysafe products and services. Mastercard Send enables people and organisations to send and receive money around the world in near real-time. It is designed to help banks, businesses and digital players modernise the way they send payments, giving people access to funds with speed, choice, and security wherever they interact.”

“Ten years from now, “the ability to transact on a global basis will continue,” says Nick Coleman, CSO, real-time payments at MasterCard, who adds, “Maybe my car will buy stuff for me.” Coleman discusses the future of digital payments and the technologies that can help secure that future.”

“Mastercard is prepared to collaborate with important NFT marketplaces so that customers in all industries can easily make NFT payments. The company is working with centralized NFT marketplaces to expand its survey into NFTs and web3 technologies. Candy Digital and Immutable X are two notable names in the NFT business Mastercard is looking to work with. NFT markets are partnering with the company as part of the strategy to increase its web3 presence. The ability to buy NFTs directly through a credit card rather than first acquiring crypto should also be made available to more people.”

“Mastercard has strengthened its collaboration with major fintech operators by partnering with EziPay to enable millions of consumers across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to make global digital commerce payments swiftly, safely and securely. Consumers and merchants can use the Mastercard virtual payment solution, which is linked to the EziPay eWallet and provides a convenient payment gateway service, to perform global digital transactions and connect with brands and businesses around the world, wherever Mastercard is accepted.”

“FinTech Futures sat down with Jim Wadsworth, senior VP of Open Banking at Mastercard, at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam to discuss working with fintechs, open banking, becoming a paytech and safeguarding customer data. See what he had to say.”

“We believe the process of buying an NFT needs to be easier and safer. When that happens, customers get the things they want with less stress and uncertainty. For NFT creators, these changes grow their potential customer base to millions more people all over the world.  We’ve been innovating over the past year to make these improvements happen. As part of this work, we’re happy to announce we’re working to enable NFT commerce with Immutable X , Candy Digital , The Sandbox, Mintable , Spring, Nifty Gateway , and Web3 infrastructure provider MoonPay. We’re working with these companies to allow people to use their Mastercard cards for NFTs purchases, whether that’s on one of these companies’ marketplaces or using their crypto services. With 2.9 billion Mastercard cards worldwide, this change could have a big impact on the NFT ecosystem.”