Mastercard, Microsoft Join Forces to Advance Digital Identity Innovations
03 December 2018 - 11:55PM
Business Wire
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft)
today announced a strategic collaboration to improve how people
manage and use their digital identity.
Currently, verifying your identity online is still dependent on
physical or digital proof managed by a central party, whether it’s
your passport number, your proof of address, driver’s license, user
credentials or other means. This dependence places a huge burden on
individuals, who have to successfully remember hundreds of
passwords for various identities and are increasingly being
subjected to more complexity in proving their identity and managing
their data. Working together, Mastercard and Microsoft aim to give
people a secure, instant way to verify their digital identity with
whomever they want, whenever they want.
The answer to these challenges is a service that would allow
individuals to enter, control and share their identity data their
way--on the devices they use every day. That’s Mastercard’s
intention, working closely with players like Microsoft.
“Today’s digital identity landscape is patchy, inconsistent and
what works in one country often won’t work in another. We have an
opportunity to establish a system that puts people first, giving
them control of their identity data and where it is used,” says
Ajay Bhalla, president, cyber and intelligence solutions,
Mastercard. “Working with Microsoft brings us one step closer to
making a globally interoperable digital identity service a reality,
and we look forward to sharing more very soon.”
Access to a universally-recognized digital identity could unlock
new and enhanced experiences for people as they interact with
businesses, service providers and their community online,
including:
- Financial Services: Improve and
speed the applicant identification process for establishing a new
bank account, loan or payment service account
- Commerce: Enable a more
personalized and efficient shopping experience online and in
stores, regardless of the payment type, device or service
provider
- Government Services: Simplify
interactions with government agencies and services – such as filing
taxes, applying for passports or securing support payments (e.g.,
Social Security)
- Digital Services: Streamline and
provide easier use of email, social media, movie/music streaming
services, and rideshare platforms
“Digital identity is a cornerstone of how people live, work and
play every day,” said Joy Chik, corporate vice president, Identity,
Microsoft. “We believe people should be in control of their digital
identity and data, and we’re thrilled to first work with Mastercard
to bring new decentralized identity innovations to life.”
This digital identity initiative could also help solve for
common challenges:
- Identity Inclusion: More than 1
billion people, a majority of them women, children and refugees,
are not officially recognized; a digital identity can improve their
access to health, financial and social services.
- Identity Verification: A single,
reusable digital identity can help people interact with a merchant,
bank, government agency and countless other digital service
providers with greater integrity, lower cost and with less
friction.
- Fraud Prevention: A single
digital identity can help reduce payments fraud and identity theft
of various forms.
This initiative will serve as the foundation for new Mastercard
services powered by Microsoft Azure and built in collaboration with
leaders in the banking, mobile network operator and government
communities. Microsoft and Mastercard are bringing together their
respective strengths – Microsoft’s expertise in identity technology
and Mastercard’s expertise in securely orchestrating digital
interactions in a complex multi-stakeholder ecosystem.
Additional details on these efforts will be shared in the coming
months.
About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a
technology company in the global payments industry. Our global
payments processing network connects consumers, financial
institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than
210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and
solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping,
traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more
secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on
Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on
the Beyond the Transaction
Blog and subscribe for the latest news on
the Engagement Bureau.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information on Microsoft’s decentralized identity
efforts, please visit www.microsoft.com/ownyouridentity.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181203005226/en/
Mastercard Communications, Julia Monti, (914) 217-9533,
julia.monti@mastercard.comMicrosoft Media Relations, WE
Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,
rrt@we-worldwide.com
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