The key to faster Fintech growth is safe, seamless digital account opening, according to an update from Mastercard (NYSE: MA).
Innovations in finance and payments are reportedly “unlocking new experiences for consumers and fintechs alike.”
As of 2022, around 78 percent of adults in the U.S. “prefer to bank via a mobile app or website.”
As more people open accounts and manage their finances online, digital transaction volumes are “projected to reach nearly $15 trillion by 2027,” according to an update shared by Mastercard.
With that growth “comes more sophisticated fraud, such as account takeover and synthetic identity fraud, impacting consumers and businesses.”
To further its vision of providing safe, simple, and smart choices in payments and financial services, Mastercard is “launching an enhanced Open Banking for Account Opening solution.”
This innovation “integrates account owner verification with identity insights into a single API (Application Programming Interface) to help businesses meet their customers’ needs for security and transparency.”
Chris Reid, EVP, Identity Solutions, Mastercard, said:
“At Mastercard, trust is our business. Our digital identity and open banking networks instill confidence on both sides of an interaction. By securing our online ecosystem, we are delivering on our promise to bring more people and businesses into the digital economy.”
Mastercard Open Banking for Account Opening “verifies a consumer’s account ownership and their identity in real-time.”
It also “prefills account and routing data, minimizing errors. The result is a simpler, faster, and safer way to open a new account for the 93 percent of consumers likely to use digital payments this year.”
For financial institutions and fintechs, such as MoneyLion, a Mastercard partner, it
means a single, simple solution “to verify an individual opening a new account while minimizing friction and risk of fraud.”
Dee Choubey, Co-Founder and CEO of MoneyLion, stated:
“At MoneyLion, we see people turn to digital financial services every day for a simple and frictionless user experience. It is crucial that we deliver service excellence from the beginning of our customer relationship by providing an experience that streamlines the account opening process. We are proud to work with innovative and industryleading partners like Mastercard to offer cutting-edge digital account opening solutions for our suite of financial products that let us prioritize convenience, security, and accessibility for our customers.”
Open Banking for Account Opening draws on the safe exchange of consumer-permissioned data from open banking and identity data network “leveraging industry standards, machine learning, and fraud prevention programs.”
This helps fintechs and banks confidently know who their customers are and that
they own their linked accounts, promoting secure digital account opening for the following:
- Digital wallets
- New bank and/or investment accounts
- Distributions
- Account-based payments
Jess Turner, EVP, Global Open Banking and API, remarked:
“Digital account opening is central to onboarding new customers and growing a business. Mastercard is uniquely positioned to help fintechs and banks onboard customers safely and seamlessly to accelerate growth while protecting themselves and consumers from the risks of fraud and false declines.”
Partnering with fintech innovators, Mastercard is “supporting them in expanding their customers’ choicecin financial experiences through secure digital account opening.”