Mastercard and Visa pick new partnerships to drive biometric payments
Payment giants Mastercard and Visa have both entered into new partnerships focused on biometric identity authentication adoption.
Mastercard acquired digital identity firm Ekata in an $850m deal in April
Mastercard has partnered with UK-based FinGo, the world’s first biometric identity authentication and payments platform, giving the fintech access to the white labelled Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS).
The move will enable FinGo to grow its footprint for biometric payment services globally, opening up access to a network of acquirers and millions of merchants worldwide.
Keith Douglas, executive vice president at MPGS, says: “FinGo’s focus on identity-enabled transactions and the work the team is doing in biometric applications will add to the checkout choice vendors can offer their customers.”
FinGo will also integrate the MPGS tokenisation service to securely store personal data associated with any transactions, which allows registered users to make payments by scanning their unique finger vein pattern.
The platform is also used for age verification, identity and membership and loyalty schemes, facilitating the use of vein ID in a variety of other settings.
FinGo COO Simon Binns adds: “Our partnership with MPGS will allow us to bring biometric payments to a much wider global audience and accelerate our expansion, particularly within MENA which is one of our key strategic regions.”
Visa partners Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)
The move follows Visa’s partnership with ADIB to introduce the UAE’s first biometric authentication solution for e-commerce transactions.
ADIB was also the first UAE-based bank to introduce biometric ATM readers
The solution leverages Visa’s Consumer Authentication Service to reinforce data security, which aims to mitigate security and fraud risks by replacing traditional payment verification methods with biometric authentication using fingerprint and facial biometrics.
Once implemented, ADIB customers will be able to authenticate their e-commerce transactions by using their ADIB Mobile application biometric authentication.
Shahebaz Khan, Visa’s general manager for the UAE, says: “Our Consumer Authentication Service is an example of how Visa’s network intelligence can create tangible value for our bank clients and merchants.
“Consumers in the UAE are savvy and with more transacting online, Visa’s biometric solution for ADIB offers them the safe and optimal online payment experience they increasingly expect.”
Unlike conventional procedures for user authentication, biometrics makes it difficult for intruders to use illegally obtained consumer credentials, allowing for stronger security.
With digital payments on the rise and an increased focus on security for both consumers and vendors, biometric authentication looks to make payments simpler, quicker and more secure.
Related: Mastercard acquires digital identity firm Ekata in $850m deal
