Both card networks struck new deals in the biometrics space, which is expected to be worth $82.8 billion by 2027.
Here’s what you need to know:
These moves can help Visa and Mastercard stay on top of an emerging payments trend. Thirty-seven percent of global consumers said they are at least somewhat comfortable with the idea of biometric payments, according to a Mastercard survey. More people may have been willing to try this method in the last year after the pandemic pushed consumers to adopt new digital payment forms, including contactless payments. And this trend looks sticky: 93% of global consumers would consider using at least one emerging payment trend in the next year, per Mastercard. Visa’s and Mastercard’s latest biometric partnerships get them more involved in an increasingly popular space, which can help prevent them from losing market share to fintechs and remain leaders in the payments industry.
They also complement the issuers’ existing fraud prevention initiatives. The pandemic opened the door to a deluge of fraud, particularly ecommerce fraud, which hit $17.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to break $20 billion this year, per Juniper Research—heightening the need for stronger payment authentication solutions. This could also be why both card networks ramped up their identification services: Visa recently invested in biometric authentication startup LoginID, and Mastercard just acquired digital identification platform Ekata. Visa's and Mastercard’s recent partnerships in the biometrics space might push more merchants and financial institutions to work with them so they can use those value-added services.