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.
According to Industry sources, commencing in the United Arab Emirates, noon Payments will be the first in the region to offer this innovative solution to its customers, followed by a wider rollout. 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.
Industry sources further added that 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.
Industry sources further confirmed that 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 leverage biometric authentication like fingerprint or iris scan features on their device. Upon successful authentication, the transaction is instantly completed.
“Mastercard is committed to building a robust digital payment ecosystem where every transaction is secured,” stated 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.”
“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.” stated Hisham Zarka, CTO, noon.
