MasterCard

Nigeria to Issue National Mastercard-Branded Biometric ID Cards

Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announced it has launched the eID pilot program, issuing MasterCard-branded identity cards with electronic payments functionality to 13 million civilians. The program marks the largest rollout of a biometric verification card with an electronic payment solution in Nigeria, as well as the broadest financial inclusion program in Africa. The eID card is a key part of the NIMC’s mandate to develop, maintain and run Nigeria’s first central national identity database and provide proof of identity to Nigerians 16 years and older.

Global Biometric Standards-Setting Body Formed

News analysis: Global biometric standards-setting body formed The Natural Security Alliance, a French-based international open source biometric standards-setting body that counts BNP Paribas, MasterCard and Carrefour Banque among its members, has launched what it claims is the world’s first association grouping, the Open Alliance, dedicated to propagating shared wireless biometric authentication to protect transactions. Up until now, the French-based organisation has not tried to corner the international standards market, reports Neil Ainger , but with the launch of the Natural Security Alliance’s open source group that is now changing. Jean-Pierre Viboud, group chief executive of Oney Banque Accord in France has been appointed as the open group Alliance’s first chairman, overseeing a collection of banks, card schemes, retailers and vendors all dedicated to developing and encouraging a global open source wireless biometric authentication standard. The shared protocol will be freely available to all and can protect transactions around the world. According to Viboud all open Alliance members, with the initial founding board including AS 24 (TOTAL oil group), Crédit Agricole, Paycert, SIX Payment Services and Swiss Capital International among many others, share a strategic commitment to delivering mission-critical authentication and payment solutions based upon biometric technology. “The Alliance was formed to provide a collaborative space for all professionals who are interested in biometrics and new payment systems to share and develop ideas for an open standard,” he said. “We believe that this information sharing and access to the specifications is one of the main benefits for our members. As […]

MasterCard Certifies OTI?s ?Wave? NFC Device, Paving Way Toward Greater NFC Adoption Of Wallet-less World

MasterCard Certifies OTIs Wave NFC Device, Paving Way Toward Greater NFC Adoption and a Wallet less World The Wave is the industry’s first audio jack plug-in NFC payment solution and the only to receive certification from a major payment company like MasterCard. Based on OTI’s patented NFC technology, the compact Wave dongle is device agnostic, easily plugging into any smartphone, tablet or PC, allowing users to pay with their device while enjoying real-time benefits from loyalty programs and other incentives as delivered by the corresponding application. It opens up a whole new world of mobile device applications, while alleviating the burden of a wallet full of credit cards. “Receiving certification from MasterCard provides essential validation of our technology platform and opens up significant greenfield opportunities for our Wave solution,” commented Ofer Tziperman, OTI’s CEO. “We can now begin to target large-scale implementations with banking institutions and payment card providers, as well as projects involving public transportation, institutional memberships, and loyalty and rewards programs. “As the first major player in the payment industry to certify OTI’s Wave, MasterCard provides validation of our NFC solution — now the payment industry’s only certified NFC audio-jack add-on solution. We expect other major payment companies to follow suit and provide certification in the near future. “With NFC-enabled applications expected to grow at a 35% CAGR to $34.5 billion by 2016, it’s clear the payment industry is rapidly adopting NFC technology. NFC is becoming increasingly recognized as the fastest, most efficient, most versatile and secured […]

MasterCard Joins FIDO Alliance March To Standardize Biometric Authorization And Other Alternatives

Danielle Walker, Reporter October 09, 2013 Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. MasterCard has joined forces with an organization that aims to eliminate consumers’ dependency on passwords and PINs for authentication. Last Wednesday, USA Today broke the news that the global payment processor planned to become a member of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, which was formed in 2012 by online transaction giant PayPal and a number of other companies to embrace innovative solutions for verifying users’ identities. By early 2014, the FIDO Alliance plans to introduce specifications for an open protocol standard for two-factor and multifactor authentication . The specifications would support biometric technologies, such as fingerprint scanners, voice and facial recognition, and other authentication measures, including one-time passwords (OTP) and near-field communication (NFC), a wireless technology that establishes communication between mobile devices through physical contact. In April, Google joined the FIDO Alliance. Now with the addition of MasterCard, the organization gains another power player in the industry that could give weight to its mission. On Tuesday, Brennen Byrne, CEO of Clef, an Oakland, Calif.-based mobile authentication startup, told SCMagazine.com that MasterCard’s participation in FIDO was a positive step. “The industry in general is looking for new ways to improve [methods] of authenticating,” Byrne said. “So it’s not surprising to me that MasterCard is joining on and taking the FIDO Alliance seriously,” he continued, adding later that “it’s good […]