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MasterCard Worldwide Tuesday announced changes to a security scheme for debit card purchases on the Internet in hopes of increasing the speed and frequency of such transactions. Under current rules, customers making purchases with Maestro-branded debit cards often use personal "SecureCodes" to authenticate every transaction. The issuer confirms the code before the purchase can complete. The goal of the security scheme is to prevent unauthorized purchases. Under a new program called the "Maestro Advance Registration Program," some online merchants will enroll customers in SecureCode during the first transaction, enabling those customers to conduct future transactions at the same Web sites without entering their SecureCodes and waiting for authorization. Only merchants MasterCard deems "very secure," which generally means merchants that comply with PCI data-security standards and have low charge-back rates, will take part in the program, Yves Lalieu, MasterCard business leader for debit in Europe, tells CardLine Global. MasterCard says the program will make "repeat buying both convenient and fast," according to a statement from the card company. Financial institutions have issued more than 300 million Maestro cards in Europe, Lalieu says.
