Mastercard has expanded its digital payment security infrastructure in Latin America through a new partnership with payment orchestration platform Yuno to launch the Payment Passkey Service across multiple countries in the region. The initiative supports Mastercard’s broader strategy to eliminate passwords by 2030 in favor of more secure authentication methods.
The service is being deployed initially in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, where e-commerce merchants have faced growing challenges with payment fraud. Recent data indicates fraud attempts in Latin America increased by 32 percent in 2024, with merchants losing approximately 4.6 percent of revenue to fraudulent transactions. The regional challenge has been particularly acute, as highlighted in previous analyses of Latin America’s cybersecurity landscape.
The Payment Passkey Service uses biometric authentication methods, including fingerprint and facial recognition, as replacements for traditional one-time passwords. The system incorporates tokenization technology to protect sensitive payment data during transactions and prevent exposure during potential data breaches. The approach is part of Mastercard’s plan to phase out 16-digit card numbers by 2030 in favor of digital tokens.
The launch builds upon Yuno’s November implementation of Mastercard Click to Pay, which eliminates manual card entry requirements. The combined solution provides merchants access to over 1,000 global payment methods along with smart routing capabilities through Yuno’s orchestration platform.
“The service represents a major leap forward in online transaction security,” said James Stack, Head of Product at Yuno, noting its use of “advanced tokenization and biometric authentication to reduce fraud risks.”
“The enablement of Mastercard Payment Passkey through our partnership with Yuno is an important step towards the advancement of digital payments in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Silvana Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Core Products at Mastercard for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Market research indicates 85 percent of Latin American consumers prefer biometric authentication over traditional passwords. Brazilian events platform Sympla has already adopted the Payment Passkey Service following the partnership’s December 2024 announcement, marking one of the first major implementations of the technology in the region.
Yuno, which has received backing from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global, plans to expand its payment orchestration services to Europe, Asia, and the United States. The expansion follows Mastercard’s passkey deployments in India, Singapore, and the UAE throughout 2024, demonstrating the company’s global commitment to passwordless authentication.
Sources: Fintech News, The Paypers, ID Tech
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