As digital commerce continues to accelerate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mastercard has announced that it will offer tokenisation services to merchants with app, ecommerce, and recurring billing card-on-file programme in South Africa
Dubbed Mastercard Digital Enabling Service (MDES) for merchants, the service uses a security measure known as tokenisation to protect, accelerate and simplify online and in-app Mastercard purchases, as well as subscription and recurring payments such as streaming music, video services and utility bills.
Tokenisation encrypts consumer data by substituting digital tokens for the Mastercard numbers. Every time a transaction is made online, a unique token is created for making the payment and ensures that the 16-digit card number of a consumer is not stored anywhere. This prevents improper usage at any other location and provides additional security and peace of mind for consumers and merchants alike, resulting in higher approval rates while minimising online fraud and reducing data breaches for merchants.
Suzanne Morel, country manager for South Africa, Mastercard, said, “Online shopping has gained significant traction in South Africa, and it is imperative for merchants of all sizes to ensure that they are offering a convenient, enjoyable and most importantly, secure digital experience. With consumers feeling safer shopping virtually, e-commerce will be integral in economic recovery and driving revenues for businesses.”
Currently, consumers store their card numbers at five or more merchant locations In addition to the inherent security risks in the storage of card numbers online, when card number changes, consumers are faced with the daunting task of updating payment information across all of these locations.
“This typically requires them to remember where their card has been stored, as well as the username and password they created when they stored it. If they are unsuccessful in changing the card number, transactions will fail – resulting in a potential interruption in services, lower customer satisfaction and lost sales for the merchant,” explained Morel. “With MDES for merchants, consumers no longer need to update their card details at each merchant when their card expires, allowing for seamless, ongoing payments.”
The MDES programme was designed to be fully compatible with existing acquirer and payment service provider (PSP) “local” token and encryption solutions.
Mastercard has partnered with DPO Group, Walletdoc and Peach Payments in South Africa to roll out this technology to merchants and billers including Takealot, Mr Delivery, EasyPay, Zando and others over the next few months.
