Numberless debit and credit cards will soon be found in wallets across Australia as part of a bank’s fresh bid to combat scams.
Australian bank AMP has partnered with Mastercard to roll out the first domestic numberless card of its kind in February this year.
The numberless cards, which will be blank and won’t feature the traditional 16 digits, are designed to stop scammers and fraudsters stealing and storing the card details of small businesses.
The card’s unique 16-digit number won’t be visible on the card’s design however details will be accessed via the AMP app, which will have extra layers of security.
Digital tokens, which are single use or limited use, will be used to pay instead.
AMP’s new banking app will also include advanced fraud and scam protection systems, including prompting users to record video selfies when they sign up, to tackle identity theft.
Richard Wormald, Division President, Australasia at Mastercard, said the numberless cards are a crucial next-generation design which will protect banking customers against common scams.
“Numberless cards represent a significant step forward in payment security, offering cardholders additional protection against fraud and account compromise,” Wormwald said.
Wormwald said these cards will allow small businesses to “spend less time worrying about frauds and scams”.
AMP’s numberless cards won’t be available for personal banking customers just yet.
Numberless cards began circulating in Europe in 2020 after fintech compaby Curve issued investor numberless cards.
Banks in the UK and India soon followed.
Mastercard has flagged it intends to eliminate digits on cards by 2030, instead replacing the digits with tokenisation and biometric authentication.
Australia is one of the world leaders in card fraud attempts.
Over $700 million is lost every year in credit or debit card scams.
