Mastercard strengthens defense vs financial fraud with new threat intelligence tool

MANILA, Philippines — Mastercard introduced its first threat intelligence solution designed to combat payment fraud at scale, combining cybersecurity insights and payment data to help financial institutions better address fraud.

The Mastercard Threat Intelligence solution, unveiled on Thursday, merged Mastercard’s global fraud insights with cybersecurity intelligence from Recorded Future to give financial institutions the ability to detect, prevent and respond to fraud incidents more quickly and effectively.

The launch follows Mastercard’s acquisition of cybersecurity firm Recorded Future less than a year ago.

According to Mastercard, the intelligence gap between cyber and fraud teams remains a major challenge. About 60 percent of global fraud and risk executives are only alerted to cyber breaches after financial losses occur, while the figure rises to 67 percent across APAC.

Moreover, 83 percent of financial institution leaders in the region expressed frustration with the lack of real-time cyber threat intelligence integration.

During a six-month market testing phase, Mastercard’s intelligence data was said to have helped partners identify and dismantle malicious domains tied to payment card data theft, which affected nearly 9,500 e-commerce sites and were linked to an estimated $120 million in fraudulent transactions.

“Payment fraud is no longer just a payment system issue — it’s a cybersecurity challenge that directly impacts an organization’s bottom line,” said Matthew Driver, executive vice president of Services for Asia Pacific at Mastercard. “Mastercard Threat Intelligence bridges communication gaps, enabling fraud and security teams to work together seamlessly to stop fraud before it happens.”