Maestro Links to SecureCode in Europe, Grows in North America

MasterCard International reports that 7 million of its 545 million debit cards linked to personal identification numbers worldwide are now enabled for use with SecureCode, the card network's security program for Internet transactions on credit and debit cards. Most of this activity is in Europe. MasterCard says some 5,800 Web merchants are now accepting these PIN debit cards, which carry the Maestro brand, with SecureCode. About 5,000 of these merchants, it says, are in Italy and Spain. Overall, some 2,700 MasterCard banks have enrolled in SecureCode, with 18,400 online merchants accepting it. Of the total Maestro cards in circulation worldwide, some 46.8 million, or about 9%, are in North America. SecureCode is derived from the so-called 3D Secure technology invented by Visa International, whose own version of the system is called Verified by Visa. With 3D Secure, cardholders shopping online with a merchant who has adopted the technology receive a prompt at checkout asking for a secret code or PIN to authenticate the transaction. As an incentive to merchants to adopt the technology, both Visa and MasterCard have transferred chargeback liability to the issuer on all transactions performed at online merchants that have adopted SecureCode and Verified by Visa. Maestro's worldwide card base grew 10.2% as of the end of the second quarter, MasterCard says, adding that the card can now access 900,000 ATMs and 7 million merchant locations globally. The company doesn't break out numbers for North America, but says Maestro transaction volume in the region increased 92% in the first half of the year. MasterCard attributes the growth to “new acquirer and major merchant direct connections to the MasterCard Debit Switch (MDS) and Maestro issuer decisions to designate the MDS as their preferred routing channel for online debit transactions.”