Mastercard and Google Pay partner on tokenization for card-based payments

Through tokenization, Mastercard cardholders can make payments through a secure digital token without having to share their credit or debit card details such as card number and expiry date with a merchant.

The statement said that Google Pay Android users can scan and pay across all Bharat QR-enabled merchants, tap-and-pay, and make in-app transactions through their Mastercard debit and credit card. For registration, users will do a one-time setup by entering their card details and their OTP to add their card on the Google Pay app.

Sajith Sivanandan, business head of Google Pay and Next Billion User Initiative (Asia Pacific) said, “At Google Pay, our endeavour is to simplify payments and make it accessible to as many users as possible – one key pillar in making this a reality is to offer the highest levels of security for every transaction with the help of technology.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Mastercard for card tokenization which will offer users state-of-the-art security for card payments. This is already live for several credit card issuers on Mastercard, and we are working closely with other banking partners to further expand the adoption of tokenization in India. We are hopeful that the added simplicity and convenience will make an ever-larger base of users feel secure in making more payments digitally,” he said.

According to Nikhil Sahni, division president (South Asia and country corporate officer) at Mastercard, tokenization enables an additional layer of security for payments, which reduces friction and improves the shopping experience.

“It will redefine the current payment ecosystem by enabling a safe experience for the consumer and facilitate millions of mobile- first users from remote locations in migrating towards a cashless society,” said Sahni.