As we embark on the financial landscape of 2023, Mastercard takes center stage with a series of groundbreaking developments that reshape the future of digital payments and financial technology. Mastercard, a global leader in payment solutions, kicks off the year 2023 with a slew of transformative news stories, highlighting its pivotal role in driving innovation and shaping the way we conduct transactions.

In the dynamic world of finance, Mastercard stands as a beacon of innovation, and the top 10 news stories for the year 2023 offer a glimpse into the company’s strategic maneuvers and technological advancements. As the digital economy continues to thrive, Mastercard unveils a tapestry of significant news in 2023, showcasing its commitment to revolutionizing the way we approach payments, security, and financial inclusion.

From cutting-edge advancements in contactless technology to strategic partnerships fostering financial inclusivity, Mastercard’s top 10 news stories for 2023 encapsulate a narrative of progress and adaptability in the ever-evolving realm of global finance.

Top 10 News of Mastercard in 2023

Dynamic Yield by Mastercard Unveils Shopping Muse, the Next Generation Personal Retail Assistant

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This is our AI Daily Roundup. We are covering the top updates from around the world. The updates will feature state-of-the-art capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Fintech, and human-system interactions.

We cover the role of AI Daily Roundup and its application in various industries and daily lives.

Amagi and Nevion Partner to Simplify Premium Pop-Up Channel Creation

Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), has announced a partnership with Nevion, a Sony Group company and the award-winning provider of virtualized media production solutions, to enable broadcasters to be more flexible, swift, and cost effective in creating and delivering live content to their viewers, especially premium, high-quality and time-limited events like sports.

Entera Global Announces Game-Changing Bulk Actions Customized for TallyPrime 3.0

Entera Global, a pioneering provider of AI-driven software solutions for accountants for Tally system, has unveiled an innovative software update, striving to unify its system for managing complex accounting documents. By collaborating closely with numerous clients and over a hundred practicing accountants, Entera aims to streamline what’s known as bulk actions—a method where accountants handle not just one but upwards of 100 documents simultaneously.

Transcend Unveils Major Expansion to Its Privacy Platform

Transcend, the all-in-one data privacy and governance platform, announced an expansion of its product suite—going even further to help the world’s best brands manage complex privacy compliance challenges. Powering privacy for Fortune 100 companies, the global 2000s, and high-growth start-ups, Transcend easily solves current and future compliance challenges while dramatically increasing compliance, unlocking significant cost savings, and enabling improved user experiences.

Feedzai and Mastercard to Expand Crypto Fraud Protection for Consumers Globally

Feedzai a financial crime and risk management solution, and Mastercard – a global technology company in the payments industry – are combining technologies to increase crypto fraud protection for hundreds of millions of consumers.

MicroAlgo Inc. Announced Bitcoin Trading Prediction Algorithm Based on Machine Learning and Technical Indicators

MicroAlgo Inc. announced a Bitcoin trading prediction algorithm based on machine learning and technical indicators. The algorithm combines deep learning, technical analysis and quantitative trading strategies to provide investors with more accurate and intelligent decision support.

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Hi Steve, welcome to the AiThority Interview Series in 2023. Please tell us about your two decades of tech experience so far. How did you arrive at Mastercard?

My career has had several phases. For the first 10 years or so after graduating, I worked at various – mostly small – independent, software companies and consultancies. My position evolved over the years; I started as a developer before advancing to the role of a software engineering manager and then eventually becoming a CTO.

Next, I worked for Science Foundation Ireland (SF), Ireland’s national science funding agency, where I led our investments in topics such as computer science, data science, software engineering, and artificial intelligence.

In 2014 I started at Mastercard, which is where I still currently work today. Initially, I supported and grew a team called Start Path, an engagement program for innovative startups in the fintech space. A few years later, I joined Mastercard Foundry, the innovation and R&D arm within the company, leading research and development for AI, ML, and now also quantum computing. This July, I was appointed to Mastercard’s first class of Distinguished Engineers, a recognition for select Senior Vice President technical experts as part of the company’s continuing commitment to technology, innovation, and career growth. With this distinction, I continue my work with a focus on artificial intelligence and quantum computing. 

You are in charge of Mastercard R&D’s strategy and execution of AI and ML in new product development efforts. What is the biggest challenge to Digital Transformation in the market you cater to?

Of the many years that I’ve worked in technology – this current period is distinct for the speed and scale of innovation taking place. This dynamism is exciting because we’ve only just scratched the surface of what is possible for businesses and consumers, but with it also comes new challenges for enterprises.

For one – leveraging emerging technologies to build new products and services.

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Part of the equation is to understand and introduce technologies like web3, spatial computing, PETs, and AI/ML, while also maintaining and upgrading legacy systems, and aligning with ever-evolving legislation and regulation governing their application.

AI specifically has been top of mind for our market, especially following the fairly recent explosion of generative AI.  Mastercard has been putting AI to work for years, particularly in our products and solutions across open banking, routing, personalization, and fraud that enhance the safety and security of the payments ecosystem.  Although the step change between AI and generative AI is exponential in terms of what you can do with it, our deep roots in AI have afforded us the capabilities, talent, framework, and partnerships to keep a pulse and execute on emerging technologies.  

As a leader in the payments space, and as with any nascent technology, Mastercard has a responsibility to set the precedent for exploring generative AI responsibly.  We developed an AI governance program and guidelines for our data scientists to minimize risks in AI and best serve our customers, invested in partnerships with key institutions like RIT In Dubai and Howard University, and actively encouraged our employees to safety test and learn. 

What technologies within AI and computing are you interested in?

The idea of being able to control a computer system and anything connected to it through programming has fascinated me since I was a teenager.

Today I’m looking at how AI, mixed reality, spatial computing, and web3 have unlocked an entirely new frontier in technology. We’re likely to see several key trends, such as the rapid increase in computational power, both at the edge and in the cloud, and the tokenization of assets to start to coalesce around some of these new computing paradigms.

For AI, the incredible advances born from generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) are also contributing to the transformative period we’re in.

Currently, Mastercard is engaging in test-and-learn with generative AI applications to enhance operational efficiency and improve data quality, aggregation, entity resolution, and categorization.

We’re also using ML for certain models that support our open banking solutions, such as credit scoring, financial management insights, account opening, and payments. It enables us to extract, identify, and classify data quickly and more efficiently than rules-based models alone.

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In the longer term, I’m paying close attention to both quantum computing and AGI. With quantum, I’m tracking developments in both hardware and software, to understand how these new devices will help us to solve ever more complex computational problems, and what use cases will arise in our industry. With AGI, at some stage, we may be looking at the prospect of human-like machines that can solve a wide range of complex tasks at scale. 

In the current analysis, it is reported the global quantum computing (QC) market will be at $900 million. How do you see QC disrupting the digital market in the next couple of years? 

At $900m, quantum computing is still a very small part of the overall computing market.

Over the next few years, we’ll see quantum computers – inclusive of quantum annealers – get progressively more performant, capable, and reliable.

Currently, our best guess is that the earliest use cases in banking and payments will most likely be in the optimization space, with other applications such as machine learning coming later.

Rather than a disruption, it’s more probable that we’ll see quantum technology adopted gradually, across industries and companies, as the technology continues to improve, becomes more usable, and its primary use cases become more evident. 

What steps can young technology professionals take to enhance their proficiency in collaborating effectively with Cloud, Automation, and AI-based tools? 

Nothing beats getting “hands-on-keyboard” experience using these technologies.  One of the amazing benefits that all young tech professionals have today is readily available online learning materials. There are tutorials on YouTube for just about every emerging technology imaginable, and through cloud computing, there’s also access to the resources required to explore those areas. Many cloud and tech companies also offer cheap or free trial accounts to help young developers learn their technologies at little or no cost.

On the Mastercard Developers platform, for example, you’ll find a quick start guide that will walk you through how to create a new project using Mastercard’s APIs, and gain access to the Sandbox environment. So, armed with nothing more than a laptop and an internet connection, people can get access to all the technology they could imagine, even quantum computers!

One of the tried and tested ways to build skills in these areas has been through the open-source community – whether it’s contributing to an existing project that you find interesting or relevant, or starting a personal project that scratches your own itch. 

What are your predictions for AI/ML and other smart technologies heading beyond 2024?

As machine and deep learning evolve, so too will their role within our sector. This past year has been about experimentation. In 2024, we expect generative AI to continue to gradually integrate into business operations and products.

Companies are currently focused on internal generative AI applications, like software development co-pilots, knowledge bots and operational efficiency drivers that are serving as testbeds and laying the groundwork for what’s to come. This phase is likely to continue throughout the year, as companies start building the foundations for implementation. As challenges like data privacy, information accuracy and bias are addressed, we anticipate that the range of use cases will expand to include more ambitious and public-facing deployments.

 

One of the most compelling use cases for generative AI in the financial services industry is in open banking. With the aid of fine-tuned LLMs, generative AI can enable the cleaning and categorization of data at a significantly higher through-put and with more accuracy than previously available.

In line with informed data consent protocols, generative AI could streamline personal financial management, for example, by acting as a personal wealth manager to create an encompassed view of an individual’s financial well-being, help formulate college savings plans, procure loans and implement financial strategies – empowering people to navigate their financial lives more adeptly.

Thank you, Steve! That was fun and we hope to see you back on AiThority.com soon.

• About Steve
• About Mastercard

About Steve

Steve is an IT professional with more than 25 years of industry experience in payments, government, and academia. He is currently responsible for leading Mastercard Foundry’s R&D initiatives in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, 5G and Web3. In this role, Steve leads a team of talented data scientists, data engineers and software engineers to bring new products and services to market.

About Mastercard

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

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Feedzai will leverage Mastercard’s Ciphertrace crypto intelligence solutions to reduce the risk of account-to-account fraud flowing into crypto exchanges 

Feedzai a financial crime and risk management solution, and Mastercard – a global technology company in the payments industry – are combining technologies to increase crypto fraud protection for hundreds of millions of consumers.  

Today, an estimated 40% of scam transactions exit directly from a bank account to a crypto exchange. According to Feedzai’s recent report, The State of Global Anti Money Laundering (AML) Compliance Report 2023, the monitoring of cryptocurrency effectively is still one of the biggest challenges for financial institutions.  
 
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Addressing the need to implement effective AML solutions, Feedzai and Mastercard will collaborate to integrate Mastercard’s world-leading crypto intelligence solution, Ciphertrace Armada into Feedzai’s unique RiskOps platform. RiskOps analyzes transaction data totaling over $1.7 trillion annually¹ and offers a comprehensive suite of AI-based solutions designed to stop fraud and financial crime at the source – allowing banks to be alerted in nanoseconds when a transaction appears fraudulent.  

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Ciphertrace Armada allows banks, crypto exchanges, wallets, crypto ATMS and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to better assess the fraud risk in digital asset transactions. In pairing these technologies together, Feedzai’s customers, who collectively protect over 900 million consumers² globally, will now be able to identify and prevent transactions involving fraudulent crypto exchanges before they occur. 

The partnership comes just months after Mastercard announced its new solution that helps banks identify scams in account-to-account payments. Using AI, Mastercard Consumer Fraud Risk enables banks to intervene in real time and to stop a payment before funds leave a victim’s account. 

The combined intelligence means that financial institutions can stop transactions involving high risk and potentially fraudulent crypto exchanges in real time, alerting the customer to the risk before money leaves their account. 

Nuno Sebastião, CEO of Feedzai said: “Mastercard’s commitment to protecting its global customer base from fraud aligns perfectly with Feedzai’s mission. Criminals use crypto as part of their scam strategies, with the scam proceeds often ending up being funneled to an unauthorized or otherwise risky crypto exchange. It also continues to remain a challenge for AML professionals as criminals become ever more sophisticated and money laundering techniques advance.  This global partnership will further empower banks to protect their customers’ against the risks associated with crypto and instill further trust in the ecosystem.” 

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Ajay Bhalla, president of Cyber and Intelligence at Mastercard said: “This is an exciting step in our journey to secure the digital ecosystem. We’re providing financial institutions with the insights they need to be able to prevent transactions involving fraudulent crypto exchanges. We are delighted that, through this new partnership, we are able to go further, by helping to stop fraud and payments to scams before they take place, giving customers more choice, security and, most importantly, reinforcing trust.” 

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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Bolstered by advanced personalization capabilities, the generative AI-based tool redefines a tailored retail experience

Dynamic Yield by Mastercard today announced Shopping Muse, an advanced generative AI tool that revolutionizes how consumers search for and discover products in a retailer’s digital catalog.

Shopping Muse re-creates the in-store, human experience by translating consumers’ colloquial language into tailored product recommendations, complete with suggestions for coordinating products and accessories. Consumers can use Shopping Muse to explore modern aesthetics, trending looks, dress codes, and unconventional search terms like ‘cottagecore’ or ‘beach formal’ with ease. Shopping Muse recommendations match an individual consumer’s unique profile, intent, and affinity, and builds on the conversation’s context over time to deliver results that perfectly match even the most eccentric query. Underpinned by Dynamic Yield’s deep personalization capabilities, the solution combines contextual and behavioral insights to produce recommendations that are informed by the retailer’s keywords, visual cues, and the consumer’s own affinity.

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“Solutions like Shopping Muse are the next natural step in the retail revolution and are core to putting the consumer back at the center of the journey,” said Raj Seshadri, President of Data & Services at Mastercard. “At Mastercard, we’re putting technology and machine learning to work to deliver better outcomes for both brand and consumer.”

In addition to helping shoppers search by phrase, Shopping Muse can reduce frustration by helping consumers find the perfect item even when they don’t know how to properly describe it in words. Using integrated advanced image recognition tools, retailers can recommend relevant products based on visual similarities to others, even if they lack the right technical tags. The tool also takes into account the shopper’s affinity, based on session browsing history or past purchases, to better estimate future buying intent. With an understanding of the consumer’s affinity and the context of broader collective behavior, the retailer can ensure the suggested items are complementary, not redundant.

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“Personalization gives people the shopping experiences they want, and AI-driven innovation is the key to unlocking immersive and tailored online shopping,” said Ori Bauer, CEO of Dynamic Yield by Mastercard. “By harnessing the power of generative AI in Shopping Muse, we’re meeting the consumer’s standards and making shopping smarter and more seamless than ever.”

In this era of fast evolving trends and deep learning algorithms, retailers must adapt to changing demands and higher consumer expectations to move beyond short-term trends. Embracing technology is crucial to that agility – more than one in four retailers are currently using generative AI solutions, with another thirteen percent planning to adopt them in the next year¹.

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Mastercard acquired Dynamic Yield—a 6-time Leader in the Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Personalization Engines—in 2022 to strengthen its suite of consumer engagement and loyalty services, helping brands deliver more effective and trusted experiences across channels. Mastercard embeds best in class privacy safeguards into all of its products and services in line with a thorough Privacy by Design approach and the application of effective and responsible AI principles and standards.

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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Mastercard announced that its joint venture entity, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., has received formal approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) to commence domestic bankcard clearing activity in China.  

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“We are pleased to have reached this milestone with our local partner NUCC. Mastercard’s deeper participation in the Chinese market will benefit the country, its consumers and its businesses, while simultaneously boosting our company’s mission of connecting and powering an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone and unlocks priceless possibilities for all,” said Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard.  

In February 2020, the PBOC principally approved the application from Mastercard NUCC to begin formal preparations to set up a domestic bankcard clearing institution in China. Since that time, the JV has established standards, rules, structures and infrastructure in line with local regulatory requirements, and obtained the required certificates for a local switch business. 

“Mastercard NUCC is committed to being in China as an active partner, working to expand issuance and acceptance of Mastercard-branded products for the benefit of local businesses and consumers. As we ramp up our domestic operations, we look forward to working with customers and partners in China to harness technologies and innovations in a way that empowers local businesses and delivers the best payments experiences to people every day,” said Ling Hai, chairman of the board of Mastercard NUCC and co-president, international markets at Mastercard. 

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In recent years, Mastercard has built a strong cross-border portfolio in China that includes tens of millions of bank cards and millions of acceptance points across the country, helping power connectivity to the global economy and driving cross-border and inbound commerce in China. Earlier this year, Mastercard enabled inbound acceptance via Alipay and Tencent wallets so that international cardholders can pay safely and conveniently like a local at tens of millions of QR payment points when traveling around China.  

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[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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The Cybersecurity FlexiMasters program is tailored specifically for mid-career professionals wanting to enter the field, helping to address the regional shortage of qualified professionals. The course is the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region.

Mastercard and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have launched a new FlexiMasters program, the NTU-Mastercard FlexiMasters in Cybersecurity & Digital Trust, to strengthen expertise in combating the growing threat of cybercrime. This marks the first milestone of the Mastercard-NTU Joint Lab, an industry-university partnership announced in December last year, aimed at strengthening and growing the cybersecurity ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region.

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The NTU-Mastercard FlexiMasters program was launched by Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Ministry of Communications and Information (centre), with Professor Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry) of NTU Singapore (left), and Ari Sarker, President, Asia Pacific at Mastercard (right). The program leverages Mastercard’s cybersecurity expertise and NTU’s global reputation for education and learning to train the next generation of cybersecurity talent in the region.

Cybersecurity is a rising challenge in the Asia Pacific region. There has been a 16% YoY increase in cyber attacks in the last year. Cyber threat intelligence has been marked as one of the four key skills gaps by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. At the same time, digital trust has been identified by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority as one of the key capabilities to develop the country’s digital economy.

The FlexiMasters program is tailored specifically for mid-career professionals, allowing them to pursue their educational goals on a part-time basis and tailor their studies around existing work or family commitments. It is the first part-time FlexiMasters program in cybersecurity within NTU’s portfolio. More notably, the program is open to professionals from all backgrounds wanting to make an entry into the field of cybersecurity. This will further help grow the pool of cybersecurity talent in the market by offering new opportunities to mid-career professionals who are looking to switch careers.

This program is part of Mastercard’s efforts to support the region’s cybersecurity efforts. In addition to the Mastercard-NTU Joint Lab initiative, Mastercard also announced last December its objective to establish its first Cybersecurity Center of Excellence for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore.

Mastercard’s leading role in safeguarding global networks means it is uniquely positioned to offer insights into real-world cyber threats. In the last three years, Mastercard prevented over US$35 billion in potential losses globally from fraud through its AI-powered cybersecurity solutions.

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This will be the first time Mastercard is involved in the development and co-delivery of a Masters level program. Its expertise provides a solid foundation for shaping the practical applications and requirements of the program, which have been seamlessly integrated into the curriculum. By leveraging Mastercard’s global knowledge and insights and offering comprehensive modules developed by Mastercard, the program ensures that participants are immersed in real-world applications and highly trained to contribute to the cybersecurity sector.

The modules within the curriculum will be delivered by experienced NTU faculty members, in conjunction with Mastercard’s global in-house experts. Mastercard experts will take the lead in conducting nine modules, with a teaching commitment of ten to 13 hours per module during the inaugural run of the program, while simultaneously training NTU’s faculty to enable the university to independently carry out the program in subsequent iterations.

Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Ministry of Communications and Information who was the Guest of Honour at the launch event of the FlexiMasters program, said, “Securing Singapore’s digital ecosystem is crucial to our security and economy. At the same time, the cybersecurity sector provides exciting career opportunities for Singaporeans. Therefore, I am heartened to see private sector firms working closely with our Institutes of Higher Learning to equip our professionals with industry relevant skills, especially in advanced areas of Cyber Threat Intelligence and Digital Trust.  I look forward to more of such industry-academia collaborations to open up more pathways for Singaporeans interested in a career in cybersecurity.”

NTU’s collaboration with Mastercard to develop the new FlexiMasters program in Cybersecurity & Digital Trust is the latest addition to the University’s suite of FlexiMasters offerings, which ranges from business administration to healthcare management and data analytics to sustainable engineering.

Professor Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry) of NTU Singapore, said, “The NTU-Mastercard FlexiMasters in Cybersecurity & Digital Trust represents a vital step towards fortifying the cyber landscape in the Asia Pacific region with industry involvement. This partnership addresses the critical skills gap and talent shortage in Singapore and in the region. As we launch this pioneering programme, we affirm our commitment to empower mid-career professionals, providing them with the knowledge and skills to excel in the ever-evolving field of cybersecurity. Together, we will help shape the future of digital trust and nurturing the next generation of cyber talent. We are pleased to launch this together with Mastercard, and we look forward to involving industry more in such initiatives as it brings with it a wealth of experience and domain knowledge that they have from being on the ground. This collaborative effort signifies a significant stride toward a more secure and resilient digital future.”

The new initiative is also in line with the University’s NTU2025 strategic plan, which aims to harness the science, art, and technology of learning to address education, a key pillar of the plan, which strives to promote lifelong learning.

Ari Sarker, President, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said: “We remain steadfast in our commitment to cultivating the skills and expertise necessary to navigate the evolving landscape of digital threats. By empowering individuals and fortifying their knowledge, we not only contribute to the collective resilience against cyber threats but also elevate Singapore’s position on the global stage.”

Ajay Bhalla, President, Cyber and Intelligence at Mastercard, said: “Our ambition to continuously innovate to safeguard trust in our increasingly connected world extends beyond technological advancements to the heart of cybersecurity—nurturing the next generation of professionals. Through this world-leading Masters program we will enrich best-in-class talent to help deliver a safe and trusted digital ecosystem for the benefit of everyone’s future.”

(L-R): Karthik Ramanathan, Senior Vice President, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, Asia Pacific, Mastercard; Professor Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry) of NTU Singapore; Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, Ministry of Communications and Information; Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Head of Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard; Professor Lam Kwok Yan, Executive Director, Digital Trust Centre, NTU Singapore; Ari Sarker, President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, celebrating the successful industry-academia collaboration to strengthen cyber expertise in Asia Pacific.

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[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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Mastercard announced the expansion of its consulting business with the launch of new practices dedicated to artificial intelligence and economics, to help clients across all industries rapidly and responsibly advance the use of AI and address ever shifting macro-economic forces and consumer preferences. The company is also enhancing its business transformation service, Digital Labs, for clients to create end-to-end solutions from concept development and rapid prototyping to launch and scalability. These offerings are part Mastercard’s ongoing consulting expansion into emerging sectors to support businesses in their evolution and growth enterprise-wide.

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“With the democratization of generative AI and a complex economic climate, companies need expertise and go-to-market solutions now more than ever”

“With the democratization of generative AI and a complex economic climate, companies need expertise and go-to-market solutions now more than ever,” said Raj Seshadri, president of Data & Services, Mastercard. “As a complement to our advisory practices, Digital Labs serves as an incubator for businesses to explore new ideas and co-create innovative solutions with a streamlined effect on implementation.”

Facilitating safe and secure implementation of AI strategies

Backed by over a decade of expertise using AI models to safeguard more than 125 billion transactions annually, Mastercard’s AI consulting practice works with businesses to adopt relevant and responsible AI strategies. Experts identify and safely integrate AI tools for better customer experiences, operational efficiency and sustainable revenue generation. Existing AI-powered tools offered through Dynamic Yield, Test & Learn, Global Treasury Intelligence, Cyber Quant, Brighterion and more address a range of urgent business needs including personalization offers, removing bias, forecasting, optimizing finance practices, cybersecurity and fraud monitoring.

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Addressing economic uncertainties with data-driven insights

Mastercard’s Economic consulting practice consists of in-house experts at the widely recognized Mastercard Economics Institute who translate vast economic data into actionable insights. Through a tailor-made analysis that uses advanced statistical modeling techniques, scenario planning and forecasting, executives are equipped with proprietary insights for better informed decision-making. Tools like SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online purchases across all forms of payment, are utilized to distill changing consumer behavior. Built on near-real-time data, subscription and bespoke strategies are available across industries including retail, banking, fintech, travel, restaurants and more.

Nurturing innovative solutions from conception to execution

Award winning Digital Labs brings together multi-disciplinary experts and capabilities to implement the digital ambitions of companies from ideation to market launch. Using proven innovation methodologies, rapid prototyping and tools like Test & Learn, Digital Labs works alongside companies to curate fresh ideas and build cutting-edge digital solutions across loyalty, marketing, merchandising, pricing and more. Drawing on powerful data-driven insights and 600 plus award-winning solutions, Digital Labs empowers customers to tackle big questions and rethink existing ways of working.

For more than two decades, consulting has been a key part of Mastercard’s customer engagements, enabling businesses to unlock value from their data and navigate rapidly evolving industries. Today, this world-class team includes thousands of data scientists, engineers and consultants, around the world in industries spanning commercial banking, retail, consumer packaged goods, travel and entertainment, and with governments around the world.

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[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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Riskified, a leader in ecommerce fraud and risk intelligence, announced an enhanced partnership with global payments leader Mastercard, that will improve the ability of businesses across the globe to grow online revenues and profit while mitigating the risk of fraud and chargebacks.

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“We’re excited to work with Mastercard to empower merchants to continue investing in ecommerce to drive growth across the globe, and particularly in emerging markets where merchants have higher exposures to fraud and abuse.”

Riskified’s machine learning platform provides merchant fraud teams with highly accurate, automated risk-decisioning for ecommerce transactions. This partnership breaks new ground in the ecommerce fraud space by marrying insights from Mastercard’s world-leading cybersecurity products and solutions with Riskified’s extensive transaction and identity network. The partnership also provides access to Mastercard’s suite of tools that enable real-time alerts on chargeback events and facilitate automated dispute resolution.

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“This global partnership with Mastercard highlights the measurable impact Riskified makes on merchant revenues and profitability,” said Kevin Sprake, Vice President, Global Channel Partnerships at Riskified. “We’re excited to work with Mastercard to empower merchants to continue investing in ecommerce to drive growth across the globe, and particularly in emerging markets where merchants have higher exposures to fraud and abuse.”

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 [To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com] 

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VikingCloud, a leading global provider of cybersecurity and compliance solutions has announced a new client partnership for its Web Risk Monitoring solution with PAYSTRAX, a European payment processor and principal member of Visa and Mastercard.

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Global merchant fraud is estimated to drive losses of $41 billion dollars in 2023 with 29% – or nearly $12 billion dollars – in Europe. While cyber fraud and social engineering present the highest risk, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) research estimates that fraud by vendors and sellers is also increasing globally – as high as 69% annually – driven in large part by the continued post-pandemic surge in e-commerce. To fulfil its commitment to combat the increased trend of fraud risk, PAYSTRAX selected VikingCloud for its patented and unique ability to swiftly detect illegal online sales and marketing activities across its European merchant portfolio.

With VikingCloud’s managed monitoring service, PAYSTRAX and other acquirers can ensure everything marketed and sold by their merchants complies with local laws, regulations, and card brand requirements, such as MasterCard’s Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) and Visa’s Integrity Risk Program (VIRP), formerly the Global Brand Protection Program (GBPP). VikingCloud’s risk and compliance experts also keep acquirers updated on changing rules and regulations as part of the managed solution.

With VikingCloud’s Web Risk Monitoring, PAYSTRAX will be able to regularly scan each merchant’s website(s), identify illegal products, and discover merchants hiding illegal transactions in otherwise legitimate businesses. It will also detect web-based malware card skimming attacks, and find merchants that violate PAYSTRAX’s terms of service, all in real time using VikingCloud’s custom dashboard.

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This regular scanning process is designed to effectively mitigate PAYSTRAX’s risk of incurring fines and increased fees associated with illegal marketing and sales practices across their European merchant client portfolio.

Jim Burke, Chief Executive Officer at VikingCloud, said: “The PAYSTRAX team has decades of experience in the financial transaction industry and is leading the way in Lithuania’s fintech market – one of the fastest growing and most respected in Europe. Our unique Web Risk Monitoring tool provides PAYSTRAX with a quick and easy way to monitor and report on risks, providing valuable insights through a customisable and intuitive dashboard. We’re confident that the tool will play a pivotal role in the company’s growth and we are excited to being part of their journey.”

Jóhannes Ingi Kolbeinsson, Chief Executive Officer at PAYSTRAX, added: “As soon as we identified the need for a global solution to detect non-compliance issues promptly and prevent them going forward, there was no question about who our partner should be. We’ve seen first-hand why VikingCloud earned its reputation as the ‘go-to’ partner for payment processors with its Web Risk Monitoring tool that’s genuinely unrivalled. It offers the exact capabilities we needed and provides invaluable access to additional risk reduction expert solutions in the future.”

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