Mastercard has confirmed that Amazon customers in 12 countries across North America, Latin America, Middle East and Europe will have their stored card credentials tokenized.
The tokenization means that by replacing a consumer’s physical card number with a token, payment information is unique to each individual transaction and can be used only by the merchant that requested it.
It comes as e-commerce continues to grow exponentially, with an increasing number of consumers elevating efficiency by saving and managing their card details across multiple websites.
Jorn Lambert, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions at Mastercard, commented: “The behavioural shift that we are seeing has accelerated in recent months, but it’s a product of our work to create the infrastructure and partner ecosystem, for the digitally-savvy consumer and forward-thinking businesses like Amazon.
“Mastercard’s work with Amazon and others is a testament to the strength of our well-established digital product suite – we create consumer journeys that improve the shopping experience and boost approval rates.”
Amazon and many other merchants worldwide use Mastercard’s tokenization technology to ensure that the cards which consumers store on file stay seamlessly up to date.
Tokenization enables an enhanced user experience by creating visual cues, displaying familiar card art that instills trust in a consumer’s preferred payment method. As Mastercard makes issuer card artwork available for every user, it helps consumers choose their preferred payment method more efficiently and increases the likelihood of a purchase being completed.
The year has elevated the growth of digital transactions, with Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) building on this with the foundation for a frictionless experience, eliminating the frustration of managing card information and reducing shopping cart abandonment.
MDES is live with more than 2,600 issuers and 1,200 token requestors around the world, and tokenization of a merchant’s cards on file is accelerating as we continue to add global players like Amazon to deliver this solution at scale.
Amazon is adopting Mastercard tokens in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and United Arab Emirates; consumers making purchases on the Amazon online stores serving these countries will experience the benefits of tokenization.
Expert Analysis: As efficiency and seamlessness becomes an increasingly pivotal factor in maximising consumer engagement, tokenization is a tool that more and more merchants are likely to implement.
