MasterCard is introducing new two-factor authentication products designed to enhance security of both online banking and e-commerce transactions via a range of Internet-connected devices, including mobile phones and PDAs.
MasterCard says its All-in-One Authentication Device and Mobile Authentication products are based on its own two-factor chip authentication programme (CAP) and generate one time passwords to be used when conducting online banking transactions or making purchases online.
The All-in-One Authentication Device - which is supplied by Xiring - creates a unique one-time password that must be entered online to permit the user to conduct electronic banking or e-commerce transactions. The password generated is based on EMV and CAP, only works once, then becomes invalid upon the completion of the transaction.
MasterCard says its Mobile Authentication system allows consumers to use mobile devices as one time password generators. Customers download an authentication application to their J2ME-compliant mobile phone or PDA. Upon doing so, they are prompted to enter their PIN into their mobile device, which then generates a unique one-time password that must be entered to permit the user to conduct online banking or e-commerce transactions.
The mobile system is currently available through Cardinal Commerce and may also be available through other licensed vendors in the future. The system has been piloted by KeyBank.
In a separate announcement, MasterCard says around seven million of its contactless PayPass cards and devices have now been issued to consumers and the PayPass system is now accepted at approximately 30,000 merchant locations around the world.
The company says there are a number of PayPass-related programmes currently underway in ten countries around the world.
Art Kranzley, executive vice president, advanced payments, MasterCard, says: "Contactless payments have expanded from a series of regional trials to a broader, more nationwide, and increasingly global, adoption of this new way to pay for everyday purchases."
Earlier this year Japanese card issuer JCB agreed to utilise a common contactless communications protocol based on MasterCard's PayPass ISO/IEC14443 implementation specification. Visa agreed to support the Mastercard PayPass ISO/IEC14443 protocol in March last year.
The latest product push comes as MasterCard prepares for a public flotation later this year. The bank-backed card scheme plans to offer up to 61.5 million shares for between $40 and $43 a share, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
The filing coincided with the publication of healthy Q1 results, with income up at $127 million from $93 million in last year's first quarter.