MasterCard Joins FIDO Alliance

PURCHASE, NY and PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 10, 2013) -  The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, an industry consortium revolutionizing online authentication with the first standards-based specifications, and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) today announced that MasterCard has joined the Alliance and been appointed to the Board of Directors.

FIDO members commit to share technology and collaborate to deliver open specifications for universal strong authentication that enables FIDO-compliant authentication methods to be interoperable, more secure and private, and easier to use.

"As consumers continue to interact across smarter devices and new technologies beyond the traditional plastic card, we're committed to continue to deliver simpler, better and more secure payment experiences," said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. "We believe our involvement with the FIDO Alliance, as well as other activities across the industry, will help deliver strong security for consumers, merchants and issuers without impacting the consumer buying experience."

Open FIDO specifications will support a full range of authentication technologies, including biometrics such as fingerprint and iris scanners, voice and facial recognition, as well as existing solutions and communications standards, such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), USB Security Tokens, Smart Cards, Near Field Communication (NFC). The open specifications are being designed to be extensible and to accommodate future innovation, as well as protect existing investments. FIDO specifications allow the interaction of technologies within a single infrastructure, enabling security options to be tailored to the distinct needs of each user and organization.

"Authentication is foundational to a successful payments industry, and to both e-commerce and m-commerce. With today's news, MasterCard emphasizes the importance of getting authentication right," said Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO Alliance. "Payment providers such as MasterCard need to have authentication choice and control, as FIDO specifications ensure, to determine what works best for their business and their customers. The FIDO Alliance welcomes MasterCard to the board of directors, and we praise MasterCard for helping to lead an industry to much needed relief from passwords and PINs."

About MasterCard
MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities -- such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances -- easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About The FIDO Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, www.fidoalliance.org, was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The Alliance plans to change the nature of authentication by developing standards-based specifications for better authentication that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce reliance on passwords. Better authentication is stronger, private, and easier to use when authenticating to online services.