- New Service Introduction: Mastercard is launching a pilot for its new Payment Passkey Service in India.
- Participants: The pilot involves major online merchants like BigBasket, banks such as Axis Bank, and payment aggregators including Juspay, Razorpay, and PayU.
- Service Features: The service aims to replace one-time passwords (OTPs) with passkeys and tokenisation for secure online checkout. It uses biometric authentication (face scan, fingerprint, or PIN) for transaction verification, ensuring that no financial data is shared with third parties.
- Reason for India Launch: India was chosen due to its rapidly growing payment ecosystem and advanced tokenisation market, aligning with the Reserve Bank of India’s goals for a safer payment system.
- Future Plans: If the pilot is successful, Mastercard plans to roll out the Payment Passkey Service to more consumers and financial institutions worldwide.
- Organisational Changes: The announcement follows Mastercard’s decision to cut around 1,000 employees as part of organisational restructuring.
