AS digital payments continue to transition to becoming the backbone of modern commerce, global payments company Mastercard is reaffirming its confidence in the security of its contactless transactions.

While financial crimes and cyber threats continue to pose significant risks to businesses, Mastercard highlights that its payment systems are safeguarded by a robust cybersecurity strategy. As part of its approach the company continues to make investments in trusted contactless technologies, those which offer a faster, more secure, and convenient payment experience for customers.

Touting speeds 10 times faster than traditional methods, Mastercard said its contactless solutions significantly reduce the risk of counterfeiting as transactions are secured with unique encryption, similar to chip-and-PIN payments.

With most contactless transactions worldwide being card-based, this area, the company said, is seen as a prime opportunity for growth, even as regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continue to lag behind global counterparts — a situation it is currently working to address.

Citing 2019 data, Mastercard said that only 1.7 per cent of credit and debit card transactions in the LAC region were contactless, a stark contrast to the over 90 per cent adoption rate in Australia, 50 per cent in Asia-Pacific, and 40 per cent in Europe.

“There are barriers in Latin America and the Caribbean that perpetuate the dependency on cash and obstruct the growth of banks. As a result, contactless is currently not optimised due to failure to deploy self-service POS and lack of training for cashiers. Also, a lack of alignment between players to merge physical with digital, and a general misconception among key constituents on the benefits of contactless,” the company said, citing these as being among the main reasons for limited take-up.

The global company, in championing contactless as the best way to convert cash to electronic payments, said this medium has proven to be not only easy, but safe and convenient. With contactless points expanding globally, consumers can already use cards, mobile devices, or wearables for transactions in more than 80 cities worldwide.

“Contactless empowers consumers by reducing reliance on cash and minimising risks associated with physical cards. The consumer is always in control and they don’t have to carry large amounts of cash. This makes it ideal for everyday purchases at quick service restaurants, transit points, convenience stores, supermarkets, movie theatres, and across many other popular areas of commerce,” Mastercard noted.

As the company pushes to expand contactless adoption in the region its management continues to urge stakeholders to collaborate in building a successful digital payment ecosystem.

“At Mastercard we continue to encourage stakeholders to work together in building out a safer, more efficient, and convenient digital payment ecosystem for Jamaicans. As digital payments continue to shape the future, now is the time for all players to embrace contactless innovation,” the company further said.

Among its main products and services enabled to push the cybersecurity objective are NuDetect, which authenticates the user through behavioural biometrics and validation of observable malicious behaviours; CyberInsights, which provides cyber intelligence information on threats, actors, techniques, tactics, and procedures to determine patterns; and RiskRecon, which focuses on analysing possible risks within digital platforms of companies having an Internet presence.

“At Mastercard we have developed and implemented a holistic cybersecurity strategy focused on assessing, prioritising and addressing risk more efficiently. We have designed and launched the most advanced solutions to create a simple, safe, and intuitive consumer experience with the lowest level of friction,” the company said, while assuring consumers that with its payment systems they can connect digitally with confidence and peace of mind, without having to choose between convenience or security.