OREANDA-NEWS. MasterCard today announced an industry first in its move to create one global Zero Liability promise for consumers. Under the new program, consumer and small business cardholders will enjoy added protection from unauthorized transactions. 

“Over the past few years, consumers have grown increasingly concerned about the security of their data and account information, and liability for unauthorized transactions,” said Nancy O’Malley, chief payment system integrity officer, Enterprise Security Solutions at MasterCard. “With this new global program, we, together with our issuers, are providing our cardholders with additional peace of mind regardless of where they live or travel.”

The global Zero Liability promise was developed in consultation with issuers and regulators, extending protections beyond what may be required today. The changes increase and expand the minimum standard for consumer protection against unauthorized transactions and are designed to work together with, and subject to applicable local laws. The new program modernizes and simplifies the existing promise to meet the needs of today’s digital marketplace.

“Card fraud and security is a global issue, and MasterCard’s move to apply its Zero Liability promise to both consumers and small businesses across the globe is a big stride forward,” said Julie Conroy, Research Director at Aite Group.

Zero Liability is designed to protect consumers from unauthorized transactions provided that the cardholder exercises reasonable care in safeguarding their card from risk or loss. In addition, the cardholder, upon becoming aware of such loss or theft, must promptly contact the bank that issued or provided their payment card. The revised rule applies to:

  • Transactions, including PIN-based transactions at the point of sale, ATM withdrawals and online or mobile transactions on MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus-branded transactions;
  • Transactions made using a consumer credit, debit, small business or prepaid cards registered to a consumer, as well as co-badged cards provided MasterCard is the brand of choice at time of purchase.

In Oct. 2014, MasterCard cardholders in the U.S., were the first to benefit from the updated rule. It will be extended to all regions by early second quarter 2016.

Zero Liability, along with the latest payment innovations like tokenization and biometrics, and real-time network detection tools like MasterCard Safety Net, are all part of MasterCard’s multilayered approach to safety and security.