AMP and Mastercard to issue first numberless debit cards in Australia
The financial services group will issue the first credit or debit cards in Australia that do not feature a 16-digit number, through a partnership with Mastercard in a bid to crack down on scams.
Financial services group AMP will issue Australians the first debit or credit cards without a 16-digit card number next month as it looks to combat the rising volume of scams and to minimise consumers’ exposure to data breaches.
Mastercard will provide the payment system for AMP’s new digital bank, which is set to launch in the coming weeks and has been designed for small businesses seen as undervalued by banks.
The new AMP Bank app will include other new security features, such as advanced fraud and scam protection systems and multimodal biometric authentication. Customers will be urged to use face ID and fingerprint ID to enter the app and be prompted to record a video selfie when they sign up, to help prevent identity theft.
AMP Bank small business and personal banking director John Arnott told The Australian removing the traditional 16-digit card number would give customers greater control over their information and privacy.
“The experience you get as a personal customer versus a small business customer can be fundamentally different. At many banks, John the dad versus John the small business owner must use a different app with very different or often limited features,” he said.
“The magic comes in giving customers control in a real easy way, because often giving control can equal complexity.
“One thing we do know about small businesses is their time – from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed, they’re all thinking about their business.”
Card details will be securely stored within the AMP banking app and will be accessible for single-use transactions or other needs. Mastercard Australasia division president Richard Wormald said removing visible card numbers would leave small businesses less susceptible to fraud and scams, while being able to easily and securely access their card details through the new bank app for transactions where card details are required.
“If the card is physically stolen, there’s no number that you could re-use. This is a major step forward in terms of improving the security of the ecosystem,” he said.
Scams cost Australians $2.74bn in 2023 and more than 601,000 scam reports were made, the competition regulator says. That reflected an 18.5 per cent jump in scam reports compared to 2022, despite a drop in the dollar figure lost.
“Our network is based on trust. To secure that, we’ve made the decision to remove over the next five years, the need for customers to enter their card number into a website. The first step is to change customer behaviour to go to their banking app for that card number,” Mr Wormald said.
Mastercard has rolled out numberless credit and debit cards in other countries in Europe and North America, but AMP will be the first bank in Australia to offer the next generation product locally. Mr Wormald said that Australia’s high rate of digital adoption could make it a global leader in cardless banking as it looked to phase out numbered cards by 2030.
He said $700m was currently being lost to card fraud from stolen Australian card numbers which were being re-used offshore.
“Australians are tech-savvy, and we have a relatively concentrated market where there are fewer banks and retailers than the US, which means changes should be able to happen faster here, and we could well be a leading market. If we can make it harder for scammers to operate here, then they’ll go somewhere else,” he said.
The new banking product by AMP will enable the bank, which has $23bn in loans and $21bn in deposits, to expand its services by targeting business owners with fewer than 20 employees, where the finances of the founder/owners are linked with their personal business. It will be underpinned by the “software as a service” or SaaS banking platform of London-based neobank Starling, which has been successful in building a digital-only bank in that country.
Mr Arnott said small business operators had been underserved by other banks and often received inferior products and limited banking apps compared to retail customers.
“That’s what we want to achieve by housing it all in one app – that you toggle between your personal and small business account, and the more we can drive that consistency with the customer in mind is important,” he said.
AMP has emphasised that the offering will evolve based on user feedback and technological advances, with the experience to progressively ramp up over the coming six to 12 months. Accounting software capability will be progressively added.
More Coverage
Originally published as AMP and Mastercard to issue first numberless debit cards in Australia
Join the conversation
Inflation falls to four-year low
Hopes for a February rate cut have risen after inflation fell more than expected, to its lowest level since 2021, driven by falls in housing and transport.
Read more
Star sells event centre to raise much needed cash
Troubled casino group Star Entertainment says it has sold its Sydney event centre for $60m as it attempts to rake in enough cash to avoid a financial collapse.
Read more