MasterCard unveils MDES for Digital Payments

Financial services company MasterCard has launched the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) on Apple’s newest devices, offering a secure platform to allow customers to use their cards when, where and how they want it. Its an initiative to digitize the payments ecosystem and provide tokenization to spur consumer confidence in new methods of payments.

The launch coincides with Visa’s announcement of its own tokenization service.

The MDES platform transforms any connected device into a commerce device to facilitate payments. This technology helps power the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch to guarantee secure payments for contactless and in-app payments.

MDES supports contactless payments, which leverages NFC technology for point-of-sale (POS) transactions. It also supports Digital Secure Remote Payments (DSRP), a method of transaction where consumers make in-app purchases using a token representative of their sensitive payment details. DSRP delivers EMV-like transactions for in-app payments.

The new solution uses tokens in place of card numbers found on plastic cards. These tokens can be locked to a specified channel or device for extra layer of security. In case of a lost device or compromised plastic card, the tokens or the card can be reissued immediately without disrupting the consumer.

First launched in the US this year, the MDES will be introduced to other major markets next year. It will also be expanded to support MasterCard Cloud Based Payments, which the company announced earlier this year.