The key to faster fintech growth is secure, seamless digital account opening

Innovations in finance and payments are unlocking new experiences for both consumers and fintechs. As of 2022, 78 percent of US adults will prefer to bank via a mobile app or website. As more people open accounts and manage their finances online, digital transaction volumes are projected to reach nearly $15 trillion by 2027. With this growth comes more sophisticated fraud, such as account takeover and synthetic identity fraud, affecting consumers and businesses.

To advance its vision of offering safe, simple and smart choices in payments and financial services, Mastercard is launching an enhanced open banking solution for account opening. This innovation integrates account owner verification with identity insight into a single Application Programming Interface (API) to help businesses meet customers’ needs for security and transparency.

“At Mastercard, trust is our business. Our digital identity and open banking network create trust on both sides of an interaction. By securing our online ecosystem, we are delivering on our promise to bring more people and businesses into the digital economy,” said Chris Reid, EVP, Identity Solutions, Mastercard.

Mastercard Open Banking for account opening verifies a consumer’s account ownership and their identity in real time. It also pre-populates account and routing data, minimizing errors. The result is an easier, faster and more secure way to open a new account for the 93 percent of consumers who are likely to use digital payments this year. For financial institutions and fintechs, such as MoneyLion, a Mastercard partner, that means a single, easy solution to verify that a person is opening a new account, while minimizing friction and the risk of fraud.

“At MoneyLion, we see people turning to digital financial services every day for a simple and frictionless user experience. It’s critical that we deliver excellent service from the beginning of our customer relationship by providing an experience that streamlines the account opening process,” said Dee Choubey, co-founder and CEO of MoneyLion. “We are proud to work with innovative and industry-leading partners such as Mastercard to provide ground-breaking digital account opening solutions for our suite of financial products that allow us to prioritize convenience, security and accessibility for our customers.”

Open Banking for Account Opening relies on the secure exchange of consumer authorization from open banking and identity data networks that leverage industry standards, machine learning and fraud prevention programs. This helps fintechs and banks confidently know who their customers are and that they own their associated accounts, promoting secure digital account opening for the following:

• Digital wallets
• New bank and/or investment accounts
• Distributions
• Account-based payments

“Digital account opening is central to onboarding new customers and growing a business. Mastercard is uniquely positioned to help fintechs and banks onboard customers safely and seamlessly to accelerate growth while protecting themselves and consumers from the risk of fraud and counterfeiting declines.” said Jess Turner, EVP, Global Open Banking and API.

In partnership with fintech innovators, Mastercard supports them in expanding their customers’ choice of financial experiences through secure digital account opening.