Mastercard has chosen India as the launchpad for its global Payment Passkey Service, aiming to revolutionize secure online checkouts for millions of shoppers. Announced at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, this innovative service will be piloted in collaboration with major Indian payment aggregators like Juspay, Razorpay, and PayU, as well as online merchants such as bigbasket and prominent banks including Axis Bank.

The Payment Passkey Service, which utilizes device-based biometric authentication such as fingerprints and facial recognition, seeks to replace traditional passwords and OTPs, offering a faster, more secure way to complete transactions. This comes in response to a significant rise in online fraud, with a nearly 300% increase in cases reported in India over the past two years.

By integrating tokenization with biometric authentication, Mastercard ensures that consumers’ payment details are secure, protecting against fraud and scams. The service is designed to streamline online shopping by allowing users to authenticate payments directly from their devices, enhancing both convenience and security.

Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, Jorn Lambert, highlighted the company’s commitment to advancing secure online checkout and driving a tokenized future. The initiative aligns with the Reserve Bank of India‘s objectives for a safer payment ecosystem.

After its initial launch in India, Mastercard plans to expand the Payment Passkey Service globally, making it available to more consumers and financial institutions in the coming months.