For every one of us who uses a smartphone, transacts online, or even has a social media account, data privacy is a valid concern. So much of our lives are on the phone - our login credentials to all our favorite websites and subscriptions, social media, banking apps… everything! All of this sensitive data is stored online, somewhere; and that's where the vulnerability lies.
India is now ranked third in the world when it comes to the number of data breaches. In 2021, the number of customers whose data was breached stood at a total of 86.63 million. These threats are expected to increase. In 2020, only 19.18 million Indian users' data was breached. The increase in numbers between 2020 and 2021 is a whopping 351.6%. The most severely impacted services are those that store customers PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and sensitive financial data like account and credit card details.
Now, think about all the places you've stored your credit card information so you don't have to enter it each time you shop. Yes, it's a cause for concern.
To address this, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in Sep 2021, stipulated that all customers must have the option to tokenize their debit and credit cards for online and phone transactions with card-on-file tokenisation. Originally, the deadline was set for Dec 2021, and then extended by 6 months to 30th Sept 2022. Mastercard has been working on the implementation of tokenization, way before the RBI guidelines came out. The company had diligently taken the steps to creating an ecosystem required to make tokenization a success. In fact, Mastercard customers in India had the option to tokenize Dec 2021 onwards. This initiative isn't limited to India though. Globally, Mastercard has rolled out card-on-file tokenization in over 2,500 banks.
“Globally, Mastercard has been an early adopter of card-on-file tokenization and we continuously focus on introducing technology that brings simplicity and safety to cardholders, every time they pay. We introduced the Mastercard card-on-file indicator in 2018 for identifying Mastercard transactions performed using stored payment credentials. In India, Mastercard has been able to create 85 mn tokens so far and major payment aggregators like Juspay, Paytm, PayU, Razorpay and Google Pay have been onboarded to extend services to the entire merchant ecosystem”, says Ravi Datla.
If you don't know what card-on-file tokenization is, here's a quick explainer:
You shop regularly at e-commerce website ABC using your credit card. You've saved the information there, for easy checkout. ABC is hacked, and now you have to ask your credit card issuer to block the card. This was the existing process, and it was both inconvenient and stressful.
With tokenization, your credit card number never gets saved on ABC's website, but it is converted into a token. So now, if ABC is hacked, the hackers get the token number, not your credit card information. Can they use your token on a third party application? No, because it's only valid for use between you and merchant ABC. Can they use it to shop on Merchant ABC's website? No, because it is only valid for you, and no one else!
The best part is, even when a data breach happens, no one can view your credentials as they will appear as a string of random characters, which are of no use to the hacker. This brings immense peace of mind!
Mastercard understands how difficult it can be for customers to adopt new technology; even one that's good for them! Which is why they've worked hard to simplify it down to 3 simple steps, as explained in this engaging video by M.S. Dhoni! The video is part of a larger campaign where Mastercard aims to raise awareness about tokenization, and also incentivise customers to get them started. Infact, Mastercard is also offering cashbacks on Amazon, PayTM, PhonePe, Swiggy and Flipkart for customers who tokenize!
If you're worried that tokenization will be too complicated, or that it will add further steps to your shopping experience, you couldn't be further from the truth! Tokenization brings you all the best-in-class experiences you're used to with your Mastercard, now backed up with advanced security features. Checkouts on merchant websites are even quicker as your token information stays saved, and since you aren't using your credit card, no need to fumble for your wallet! The entire process is automated, so no more hassle of false declines either.
For Mastercard, your peace of mind is priceless, which is why tokenization is offered free of cost. In fact, as mentioned, it may even earn you a cashback reward! For smoother, safer and faster transactions with your Mastercard, head to https://bit.ly/3yuMFYa
Moneycontrol journalists were not involved in the creation of the article
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