A Card for Our Digital Era

Simplicity, security and ubiquity sit at the very core of some of the most progressive innovations of our generation. These innovations have challenged the notion of, “that’s how it was always done” to lead to transformational “can’t live without” products and services that have made our day to day experiences better, faster and more convenient. Just 10 years ago, you couldn’t have imagined a world where your car ride or your morning coffee could be customized and delivered to you with the tap of your finger. At Mastercard, we’ve worked with a number of payment and technology partners and have been behind a number of these types of innovations such as: development of token services; immersive shopping; Mastercard Track – a global trade platform and financial tool for gig workers. 

We believe consumers want more of this type of thinking – intuitive, thoughtful and creative solutions to enhance their transactions. People are looking to newer technologies to have an impact on their lives. In the past year alone, new-technology mentions on social media increased 30 percent.¹

And today, we’re proud to introduce yet another first.  Together with Apple, one of the great consumer brands in the world and Goldman Sachs, a prestigious institution in the financial services industry, we’re launching the first ever Mastercard Digital-First card. The technology behind it and the product itself is the first of its kind. Unlike the way in which cards have been traditionally issued, this Digital-First card will literally arrive in your digital wallet first before it arrives in your mailbox (optional). Using revolutionary security features like TouchID or FaceID, it takes seconds to authenticate and is ready for the cardholder to tap, swipe and check out – instantly. According to a recent study, 68 percent of those who have loaded a debit or credit card to a mobile wallet indicated they expect to make 50 percent or more of their in-store purchases using a digital wallet within two years.²

A card like this is not only convenient but it’s also the pathway to opening up new ways to pay for things that you didn’t think possible. Imagine tapping your way through a toll booth or a take-out window or imagine tapping your way onto the metro instead of using proprietary cards or tickets. In fact, we’re already integrating this technology to a number of transit systems around the country including Los Angeles, Boston, and Denver. And new transit solutions are expected to be live in more than 20 markets in the United States including New York City within the next few years.

At the core of both these announcements is our token services and M Chip technologies that help store the card on a digital device without exposing important details and also enable fast contactless payments – making the commuter experiences fast, simple and secure. Mastercard brought token services to Apple Pay in 2014 and late last year announced its strategy to enable token services on all cards by 2020.

These are just a few of the examples of how we’re connecting the dots, thinking creatively, enhancing transactions and creating frictionless user experiences that never compromise on security, simplicity and ubiquity.

¹ Mastercard 6^th Digital Payments Study, February 2019

² TSYS 2018 Consumer Payments Study