By 
Mastercard has introduced its Payment Passkey service in India, launching an initial pilot in collaboration with some of the country’s leading payment platforms and financial institutions. This initiative includes partnerships with major payment aggregators like Juspay, Razorpay, and PayU, prominent online merchants such as Bigbasket, and top banks including Axis Bank.
The introduction of Payment Passkeys comes in response to the growing vulnerability of one-time passwords (OTPs) to online scams such as phishing, SIM swapping, and message interception. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s Annual Report for 2023-2024, fraud cases in India have surged by nearly 300% over the past two years, highlighting the need for more secure authentication methods.
Similar moves have already been made in countries like Singapore, where banks have phased out OTPs in favor of digital tokens after phishing scams led to the theft of $14.2 million from customer accounts in 2003.
Mastercard’s Payment Passkey service enhances online transaction security by utilizing device-based biometric authentication methods, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, combined with tokenization. This approach ensures that consumers’ financial data remains secure during online checkouts, as no account information is shared with third parties, making it useless to fraudsters.
“By launching the Mastercard Payment Passkey Service in India, we are advancing secure online checkout and our vision for a token economy,” said Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard. “Through innovative technology that enhances both security and convenience, we are creating a more transparent and secure commerce ecosystem. As leaders in digital payments, our commitment to achieving a tokenized future has never been stronger.”
Following this pilot phase in India, Mastercard plans to expand the Payment Passkey service to more consumers and financial institutions globally in the coming months.
Comments