Credit card purchases on smartphones can be risky business, leading to credit card theft and other financial exploits.Therefore, MasterCard is now testing a program which will secure smartphone purchases using the location of your handset.
The program is a result of MasterCard’s partnership with Syniverse. Normally, credit card users have to alert the bank if they are traveling or their card stops working beyond a certain distance of their permanent location. MasterCard’s new program will get rid of the need to call the banks every time you take a trip.
Under this program, the credit card company will get not only the location of your credit card’s use, but also the location of your smartphone. Naturally, if the two are not the same locations, something fishy is going on and the bank will be instantly alerted. If both are the same locations, that means that your card is in your own hands and safe from fraudulent activity.
For now, this program is in the testing phase and MasterCard may roll out it to a greater number of users eventually if the program proves to be a success. If you want to be a part of the program and are a MasterCard user, you can opt in. The program is cleverly paired with a marketing initiative. This means that your location data will be sold by MasterCard to advertisers who will then push coupons, offers and deals to your smartphone’s screen.
Source: MasterCard
Courtesy: The Verge
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