Mastercard introduces fraud-fighting checkout upgrade

Mastercard has chosen Australia as the next market for upgrading its tokenised online checkout experience, aiming to combat up to 90% of the country's payment card fraud.

The move is in response to the growing threat of card-not-present fraud, which cost Australians AU$608.1 million in 2023, according to data from AusPayNet.

The new payment system, named Click to Pay, has been likened to the 'contactless' nature of payments for ecommerce, introducing the convenience of retail contactless payments to online shopping. The functionality of the system eliminates manual card detail entry at the checkout, instead utilising automatic email look-ups to access the card-holder's available cards, with two-factor authentication for heightened security.

Mastercard's Division President for Australasia, Richard Wormald, likens the existence of manual entry to the equivalent of "handing over your house key every time you enter your card info". He continues: "When you shop at multiple sites, it's like leaving copies of your key all over the Internet with no real way to keep track of who has them, or how to get them back."

Certain major Australian merchants, including Dominos, Reading Cinemas, Skip, Play HQ and pay.com.au, have already incorporated the Click to Pay solution into their checkout systems. Technology partners such as Fat Zebra, CAS, Adyen, Gr4vy, Windcave, Merchant Warrior and IPSI have all enabled the technology, broadening its availability.

Furthering the simplicity and security that Click to Pay delivers, Wormald states: "With payment credentials securely held, managed and shared by one of the most trusted institutions in peoples lives, their bank, Mastercard Click to Pay sets the new standard for secure and seamless online transactions."

Click to Pay offers increased convenience to users by embedding the technology directly into the checkout. An immediate result is increased checkout conversion rates for retailers, reportedly reaching an increase of up to 94%. "This has the potential to make online payments smarter, safer and more streamlined", Wormald notes. In the coming months, Mastercard plans to add new authentication and verification tools to its tokens, enabling financial institutions and merchants to make better-informed decisions about transaction authenticity.

Merchants endorsing the system speak of the benefits already experienced. Kent Madders, Marketing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Dominos, expresses the solution's success: "Click to Pay has revolutionised the pizza ordering process for more than 10,000 Domino's customers since its introduction. This payment solution has enhanced the online ordering experience, helping us to ensure that Australian pizza lovers can enjoy their favourite Domino's menu items with record speed."

The Click to Pay system is already established in over 30 global markets, with tens of thousands of merchants using the universal digital checkout solution. These include high-profile companies such as AIG Insurance, The Walt Disney Company, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Swarovski.