Mastercard Debuts Enhancements to FinTech Express and Engage Programs

Mastercard is introducing a card issuance function for its FinTech Express platform.

The payments giant made that announcement Thursday (April 25) as part of a broader rollout of enhancements to FinTech Express and its Engage program.

The idea, the company said in a news release, is to make “it even easier for FinTechs and enablers to partner with Mastercard to quickly build and deploy solutions globally.”

According to the release, Engage — a program launched seven years ago — now includes a self-service portal that allows FinTechs to access exclusive resources, increase brand visibility and secure localized support.

“As for FinTech Express, Mastercard is introducing an end-to-end experience for card issuance and will be adding applications for Tap on Phone, Mastercard Gateway, QR acceptance and more, helping FinTechs accelerate from application to launch in a simple, fast and transparent way,” the company said.

This week also saw Mastercard announce “Scam Protect,” a product suite and several cross-industry partners to combat the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive consumers, essentially using AI to fight AI.

“By combining its identity, biometric, AI and open banking capabilities, the company said it can help protect consumers across the spectrum of internet and payments scams, from card-based and account-to-account payments to fraudulent account openings,” PYMNTS wrote.

That report cited data from the FBI showing that U.S. consumers lost $12.5 billion to internet scams in 2023. Across the ocean, fraudsters in the U.K. were responsible for nearly 1.4 million thefts during the first half of last year — which comes out to one every 12 seconds.

“Scammers are exploiting new technologies, making their deception and impersonation scams increasingly difficult for consumers to recognize,” said Chris Reid, executive vice president of identity solutions, Mastercard. “Building on our innovations in AI and key partnerships, we are supporting financial institutions with insights to better detect and prevent scams, while helping consumers learn how to spot them. This holistic approach means more people will be protected, fostering trust in our digital world.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about changes in Mastercard’s leadership, part of a similar pattern of executive shakeups at payments companies.

“All these moves reflect the dramatic impact AI has had on the payments industry. Couple AI’s emergence with recent interchange reductions, and you have a pressing need to move data monetization to near the top of the agenda,” PYMNTS wrote. “And given the state of executive decisioning around AI as measured late last year, it’s happening right on time.”