Mastercard survey: consumers expect greater transaction transparency
in digital banking for better clarity over purchases

New innovation will allow cardholders to gain access to more detailed purchase information in their banking app

MIAMI, September 13th – As more businesses turn to digital payments, and the number of connected devices grows, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: consumers are demanding more clarity around what they bought and who they bought it from.

In a survey[1] recently conducted by Mastercard across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), more than three in ten consumers report problems in identifying some of their transactions in digital banking channels. Anxiety over potential fraud leads consumers to file chargeback claims, which may be avoided.

To address these growing consumer needs, Mastercard is introducing Consumer Clarity to the Latin America and Caribbean region, a new solution for digital banking, to provide cardholders with more details on their purchases. Brought by Ethoca, a Mastercard company, the new product will enhance consumers’ digital experience by supplying them with extra transaction details, such as merchant’s name, logo and location of purchase. Merchants are invited to upload their logos to the system already today, to increase the visibility of their brand and reduce transaction confusion that leads to unnecessary chargebacks.

A common experience among cardholders

We have all experienced that sometimes we do not immediately identify some card charges on our account statement. For example, merchant’s name may be unrecognizable, or payment processor’s name is displayed instead of the merchant’s. The new opinion poll from Mastercard reveals that for many digital banking’s customers this is a common problem that generates negative emotions. As much as 35% respondents in LAC report that sometimes they cannot recognize some of purchases in the transaction history. This situation makes consumers feel annoyed (42%), anxious (28%), helpless (22%) and lost (19%).

The most common solution to clarify a dubious transaction for a consumer, who cannot recall a purchase, is to immediately call their bank (71%) rather than trying to identify the transactions themselves.

Complaints that can be avoided

What is more, such calls to the bank usually lead consumers to file a complaint (76%), e.g. in the form of a chargeback claim. However, after filing a complaint it often turns out to have been unjustified. Very often, consumers find out that either they have forgotten about the purchase or it has been a transaction made by another family member. However, when a chargeback claim has already been filed, it needs to be resolved or closed by the issuer, which generates operating costs, related to the time spent contacting a cardholder, verifying the transaction and processing the client’s case, which on average takes up to 2 weeks.

Respondents the survey confirm they want to see additional transaction details in their card transaction history to help them identify their purchases easier and faster. In their opinion the most useful details would be commercial merchant’s name (58%), their logo (39%) and purchase location (55%). Such enriched card transaction history would help consumers quickly identify the seller and the purchase itself, but most importantly give cardholders the sense of confidence and being in control of their payment transactions.

New innovation will provide more transaction clarity to consumers

“Consumer Clarity is particularly relevant in the digital era, when the popularity of online and mobile banking is growing unprecedently fast. We believe that greater transaction transparency significantly improves digital banking channels’ user experience, gives consumers peace of mind and sense of control over their spending. From issuers’ point of view, it increases cardholders’ interactions with bank’s digital channels, and merchants will get enhanced brand’s visibility. Also, both banks and merchants would benefit from lower volume of consumers’ calls and complaints” – says Jorge Arbesu, Senior Vice President, Cyber and Intelligence for Mastercard LAC

Merchants invited to upload their logos

Mastercard and Ethoca’s new Consumer Clarity solution will help increase consumers’ satisfaction and significantly improve their user experience, as well as limit chargeback claims for issuer banks. At logo.ethoca.com all merchants can now upload their logo to be displayed in online and mobile banking channels. Merchants do not bear any costs to participate in this service. Their logos will be linked to the corresponding transactions, adding clear visual cues to help cardholders quickly identify legitimate purchases. For merchants this is an opportunity not only to minimize expensive and time-consuming claims, but also to extend their brand presence and recognition.

[1] The survey was conducted in August 2021 by Kantar for Mastercard, across Latin America and Caribbean countries: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic