MasterCard has announced a new programme that will improve the speed and convenience of using Maestro debit cards online and rapidly increase the number of locations where Maestro debit cards will be accepted.
The new programme, Maestro Advance Registration Program, maintains the security of using Maestro cards while allowing e-commerce merchants to reach a largely untapped audience by accelerating and streamlining online payments.
To date, all e-commerce purchases on Maestro cards leverage MasterCard SecureCode authentication to ensure the highest security for payment card transactions. The Maestro Advance Registration Program enables select online merchants to accept Maestro cards for e-commerce transactions by using SecureCode to enroll the customer during the first transaction. Subsequent purchases the same customer makes at the merchant web site using the same Maestro account can now be processed without MasterCard SecureCode authentication, making repeat buying both convenient and fast.
"With a growing number of worldwide virtual shoppers buying items 24/7 we need to provide payment systems that are quick, safe and familiar to customers. The Maestro Advance Registration Program enables Maestro cardholders to shop online using a secure platform while maintaining the merchants' highly effective and convenient checkout experience," said Yves Lalieu, Business Leader at MasterCard Europe.
In countries where cardholders have the choice to use debit cards for their online shopping, a significant percentage have done so. Research (KRC Research 2006) shows that in the United Kingdom, around 40% of Internet transactions are on debit cards. In many countries, there is limited or no access to online purchases using debit cards.
"With the new Maestro Advance Registration programme, the whole e-commerce payments landscape will change, facilitating consumer access to online purchases using debit cards. Issuers are looking differently at e-commerce and are ready to activate Maestro cards in new environments to innovate, differentiate and create new value for their customers. And retailers are confident in accepting online payments from customers around the world using Maestro-branded debit cards, one of the most secure global payment card solutions available today," commented Luke Olbrich, Vice President, MasterCard Europe Debit.