Mastercard and Microsoft have formed a strategic collaboration to improve digital identity capabilities.
By partnering, the companies want to remove the need of remembering various passwords and the reliance on passports, licenses, user credentials to give digital proof. Instead, they want to give consumers a secure and instant way to verify digital identity with whomever and whenever.
To do this, it would need to establish a service which enables individuals to enter, control and share their identity data on their own-devices. By establishing a universally-recognised digital identity, Mastercard believes it could unlock a host of new services and enhanced experiences.
It could improve and accelerate application identification for new bank accounts, loans or payments, enable more personalised shopping experiences, simplify interactions with governments such as tax filing, passport application, or support payments, and it could streamline the use of email, social media and similar platforms.
Alongside all this, Mastercard also believes it could solve challenges with identity inclusion, by recognising more women, children and refugees and give them easier access to health, financial and social services.
It would also help with identity verification and to lower payment fraud and identity theft.
This initiative will serve as the foundation for new Mastercard services powered on Azure, and is being done through partnerships with banking, mobile network operator, and government communities.
Mastercard president cyber and intelligence solutions Ajay Bhalla said, “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.
“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.”
More details on their partnership will be released over coming months.
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