Mastercard has announced the tokenisation of consumer card credentials on file for Amazon customers in 12 countries across North America, Latin America, Middle East and Europe.
Tokenisation replaces a consumer’s primary account number (PAN) with an alternate card number – or token – that can be used for online payments but only by the merchant that requested it. Amazon will begin using Mastercard tokens for transactions through 2020 to provide a seamless online shopping experience for consumers.
The rise of e-commerce means more and more consumers are saving and managing their card details across multiple websites. Amazon and many others, including Etsy, Stripe and T-Mobile, use Mastercard’s tokenisation technology to ensure the cards consumers store on file stay seamlessly up-to-date. Unlike physical cards, network tokens do not expire – when consumers receive a new physical card from their bank, their credentials are automatically updated, eliminating the hassle of reentering their card numbers.
Tokenisation enables a best-in-class user experience by creating visual cues, displaying familiar card art that instills trust in a consumer’s preferred payment method. As Mastercard makes issuer card artwork available for every user, it helps consumers choose their preferred payment method more efficiently and increases the likelihood of a purchase being completed. According to research from Mastercard and Kantar, 80% of cardholders are likely to complete a purchase when an image of their specific credit card is shown1.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital payments, making it more important than ever for e-commerce platforms to make the checkout experience simple and convenient. Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) provides the foundation for a frictionless experience, eliminating the frustration of managing card information and reducing shopping cart abandonment.
“Mastercard’s work with Amazon and others is a testament to the strength of our well-established digital product suite – we create consumer journeys that improve the shopping experience and boosts approval rates,” said Jorn Lambert, executive vice president, Digital Solutions, Mastercard. “The behavioural shift that we are seeing has been accelerated by the COVID pandemic, but it’s a product of our work to create the infrastructure and partner ecosystem, for the digitally-savvy consumer and the forward-thinking businesses like Amazon.”
MDES is live with more than 2,600 issuers and 1,200 token requestors in 93 countries, and tokenisation of a merchant’s cards on file is accelerating as we continue to add global players like Amazon to deliver this solution at scale. Amazon is adopting Mastercard tokens in the UAE, US, Canada, UK, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and; consumers making purchases on the Amazon online stores serving these countries will experience the benefits of tokenisation.
