MasterCard's new interactive Display Card packs an LCD and a mini keyboard into the thin form factor of a traditional credit card.
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Facing ever-mounting pressure from the likes of Square, Paypal, Google Wallet, and others, traditional credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard are facing technology-driven challenges unlike any they've seen before. And while the Internet appears to be the primary disruptive element powering those new challenges, MasterCard has decided that its strategy for competing with payment service upstarts lies in creating an innovative new card that is fully interactive.
MasterCard's next-generation credit card is called the MasterCard Display Card and features a tiny display, a touch-sensitive keyboard, and even an on/off button, all packed into the thin credit card form factor with which consumers are familiar. Recently launched in Singapore for Standard Chartered Bank Singapore customers, the device was developed in collaboration with Switzerland's NagraID Security.
The MasterCard Display Card is designed to offer another layer of banking security for users, particularly during instances when remote transactions are made. Using the keyboard and display, the holder of the card can create a one-time password and use it for authentication when purchasing goods and services online, a measure that raises the bar for remote two-factor authentication procedures.
"MasterCard continues to be at the forefront of payment technology. From launching the first 'paper' card in the 1950s, to introducing magnetic stripes and EMV chips for secure, digitized payments," MasterCard's South East Asia president, Matthew Driver, said in a statement. "With the continued growth in online and now mobile initiated remote payments, consumers are naturally demanding increased security. The innovative features of the Display Card serve to address this need, whilst empowering consumers to do so much more with their payment cards."
MasterCard's new interactive card will work for traditional bank accounts as well as debit and ATM cards. Although the company has initiated limited launches of the Display Card in other international markets, the Singapore rollout is its largest to date. Future versions of the Display Card will allow users to access account balance information, transaction histories, and special promotions such as reward points all via the tiny LCD display
