At the Singapore FinTech Festival, Mastercard announced its ambition to make online shopping across Asia Pacific password-free and number-free by 2030. While more than a third of Mastercard transactions worldwide are already tokenised, achieving that vision in the world’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce market — projected to exceed RM33.6 trillion (USD 7 trillion) by 2030 — will require collective action.
Mastercard is rallying banks, merchants, digital wallets, and technology partners to enable secure, tokenised payments powered by biometric authentication. This removes manual card entry and static passwords, offering faster and safer checkout experiences for consumers.
Building on progress in India — where Mastercard worked with regulators, banks, and merchants to deliver near-complete tokenisation for e-commerce — the next phase targets full adoption in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam by 2027. These markets are driving Southeast Asia’s rapid digitalisation, with digital payments expected to account for 94% of e-commerce transactions in a market projected to reach RM1.17 trillion (USD 325 billion) by 2028.
As online shopping accelerates, so do its challenges. Card-not-present fraud remains seven times higher than in-store, with global losses expected to surpass RM360 billion (USD 100 billion) by 2029. Meanwhile, eight in ten shoppers abandon their carts, nearly half due to checkout frustration. Mastercard’s solution: replace passwords and card numbers with secure tokens and on-device biometrics, reducing friction through Click to Pay and strengthening trust across every device and platform.
Proof in Every Transaction
Where tokenisation is live, approval rates have risen by up to 6%, generating more than RM7.2 billion (USD 2 billion) in additional sales each month for merchants. The impact is clear:
- Merchants experience faster, more reliable checkout processes and stronger security, driving higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.
- Consumers enjoy one-step payments with no forgotten passwords or unexpected declines.
- Digital wallets integrate seamlessly, enabling simpler, safer payments at over 150 million Mastercard-accepted merchants worldwide.
“The vision is simple: no passwords, no manual card entry, no friction,” said Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Core Payments, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “By uniting the industry, Mastercard is accelerating adoption of tokenisation and payment passkeys to create a single, secure experience for password-free payments. As a result, approval rates are rising, fraud is falling, and millions of shoppers are enjoying faster, safer checkouts. Partners who join this movement will help shape the future of intelligent commerce in Asia Pacific.”
