The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service debuts in the Middle East with noon Payment

By Gloria Mathias

Mastercard has partnered with noon Payments, one of the payment service providers in the MENA, to bring its Payment Passkey Service to the region and accelerate secure online checkout for shoppers.

noon Payments will be the first in the region to offer this innovative solution to its customers, beginning in the United Arab Emirates. It will then be rolled out widely.

The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service streamlines eCommerce and revolutionises the consumer journey. Using device-based biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial scans, payment passkeys replace one-time passwords (OTPs) to make online transactions not only faster and more convenient but also more secure against fraud and scams. They offer consumers the peace of mind that they will not lose or inadvertently share their password or OTP.

The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service leverages Mastercard’s tokenisation technology, which also replaces the real card number with a token. This ensures that no data is shared with third parties and that it is useless to fraudsters and scammers.

With payment passkeys, shoppers can choose their Mastercard card when checking out as a guest or select a card already stored securely on file with a merchant. To confirm the payment, they can use biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or iris scan features on their device. Upon successful authentication, the transaction is instantly completed.

For eCommerce players, this means fewer abandoned carts and a lower risk of fraud, while consumers can benefit from faster checkouts and peace of mind. According to a recent report, ecommerce is becoming increasingly popular in the MENA region, with the market value estimated at $29 billion in 2023 and expected to hit $49.8 billion by 2028.

“We’re excited to collaborate with global tech leaders like Mastercard to enhance payment experiences for our customers and merchants. A key part of our mission is to empower local merchants and consumers with innovative solutions. The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service boosts data protection and simplifies online checkout. We look forward to helping noon Payments’ merchants and customers fully benefit from this exciting new service.” shared Hisham Zarka, CTO, noon.