AMP Bank has partnered with Mastercard to introduce Australia’s first numberless debit cards for small businesses, supporting Mastercard’s plan to phase out traditional 16-digit card numbers by 2030 in favor of more secure digital tokens.
The new cards completely eliminate the traditional 16-digit card number from the physical card’s surface while maintaining full functionality across Mastercard’s global network. The security-focused design addresses a growing concern in Australia, where card-not-present fraud currently accounts for 92 percent of all card fraud incidents.
The initiative features multiple security measures, including advanced biometric authentication through the AMP Bank mobile app. New customers must complete a video selfie during registration, using technology similar to what has been successfully implemented by other financial institutions for identity verification. Existing users can access their accounts using Face ID or fingerprint recognition, following a growing trend of banks implementing biometric authentication for enhanced security.
While the cards retain standard 16-digit numbers in the system, these numbers are replaced with unique tokens for online transactions. The tokenization technology, which has been proven to significantly improve credit card security, generates temporary credentials for each transaction, making stolen data virtually useless to fraudsters.
The updated digital banking platform integrates with core banking systems and will progressively add accounting software capabilities, allowing business owners to manage their operations directly from their mobile devices. The cards will maintain access to Mastercard’s network of over 150 million merchants worldwide and hundreds of thousands of ATMs.
“Banks must do a better job of supporting the millions of small businesses operating across Australia. That’s why we’ve developed a new mobile banking platform with leading tech that is proven to make it easier and safer for business owners to operate and administer their businesses,” said Sean O’Malley, AMP Bank Group Executive.
“Numberless cards represent a significant step forward in payment security, offering cardholders additional protection against fraud and account compromise,” said Richard Wormald, Division President, Australasia at Mastercard. “Mastercard is proud to partner with AMP Bank to deliver these new safeguards to Australian entrepreneurs.”
The implementation is part of Mastercard’s broader strategy to replace static card details with tokenization across its network by 2030. The transition addresses card-not-present fraud, which currently accounts for 92 percent of all card fraud in Australia. The technology employs advanced encryption to protect sensitive data while facilitating secure transactions for consumers and merchants.
Sources: IBTimes, AMP Bank, ACS, Insider Retail
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