The partnership will see the two companies collaborate to provide merchants across the region with automated, real-time digital payment solutions that reduce risk and fraud. — Photo courtesy of Mastercard

Mastercard and end-to-end fraud protection platform Vesta have announced a new strategic partnership to deliver state-of-the art fraud management solutions for merchants in Asia Pacific.

The partnership will involve the integration of Mastercard’s Cyber & Intelligence (C&I) products and solutions into Vesta’s transaction guarantee platform, and will allow merchants to eliminate online fraud, approve more transactions and grow their business.

The new partnership will address this problem and help simplify risk management for Asia Pacific-based merchants by providing Mastercard merchants with full protection before, during and after a transaction, while also offering an enhanced digital payment experience for consumers in the region and strengthening overall trust in e-commerce.

“The partnership with Vesta is a great example of Mastercard’s commitment to building strategic relationships with key players across the payments and technology ecosystems,” said Karthik Ramanarthan, Senior Vice President, Cyber & Intelligence, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “Mastercard is excited to have the opportunity to work together and deliver on the cyber security needs of its customers in Asia Pacific, making the region’s digital economy safer, more seamless and secure.”

The service will be available to merchants in the second quarter of this year.

Mastercard’s partnership with Vesta also reflects the company’s on-going investments in market-leading cyber capabilities that bolster the wider ecosystem. The combination of cyber security solutions, including behavioural biometrics, pre-dispute resolution, and identity verification, and Mastercard’s market expertise, will provide merchants with 100 per cent fraud chargeback protection, whilst also incorporating transactional insights such as payment risk scores and pre-emptive chargeback alerts.

With an increasing number of consumers choosing to shop online, verifying identity, protecting against data leaks and tackling fraud in real time has become a challenge for merchants.

According to a recent study from Juniper Research, the total cost of ecommerce fraud to merchants globally will exceed US$48 billion in 2023, from just over US$41 billion in 2022. The study found that Asia Pacific accounted for 22 per cent of global fraud. — VNS