Mastercard plans to get rid of credit card numbers. We could be heading towards the end of cards

Antonina St/Shutterstock Gary Mortimer, Queensland University of Technology and Cassandra Cross, Queensland University of Technology

Mastercard has announced plans to remove the 16-digit number from their credit and debit cards by 2030 in a move designed to stamp out identity theft and fraudulent use of cards.

The numbers currently used to identify cards will be replaced with tokenisation and biometric authentication

In 2022, Mastercard added biometric options enabling payments to be made with a smile or wave of the hand.

Tokenisation converts the 16-digit card number into a different number – or token – stored on your device, so card information is never shared when you tap your card or phone or make payments online.

The first rollout of these numberless cards will be through a partnership with AMP Bank, but it is expected other banks will follow in the coming 12 months.

Why card security is important

There is nothing quite like the sinking feeling after receiving a call or text from your bank asking about the legitimacy of a card transaction.

In 2023-2024 the total value of card fraud in Australia was A$868 million, up from $677.5 million the previous financial year.

Credit card numbers and payment details are often exposed in major data breaches affecting large and small businesses.

The cost of credit card fraud in Australia rose by almost $200 million last financial year. CC7/Shutterstock

Late last year, the US Federal Trade Commission took action against the Marriott and Starwood Hotels for lax data security. More than 300 million customers worldwide were affected.

Event ticketing company Ticketmaster was also hacked last year. The details of several hundred million customers, including names, addresses, credit card numbers, phone numbers and payment details were illegally accessed.

So-called “card-not-present fraud”, where an offender processes an unauthorised transaction without having the card in their physical possession, accounts for 92% of all card fraud in Australia. This rose 29% in the last financial year.

The Card Verification Value (CVV) (or three-digit number on the back of a credit card) aimed to ensure the person making the transaction had the physical card in their hands. But it is clearly ineffective.

Benefits of removing credit card numbers

Removing the credit card number is the latest attempt to curb fraud. Removing numbers stops fraudsters processing unauthorised card-not-present transactions.

It also reduces the potential for financial damage of victims exposed in data breaches, if organisations are no longer able to store these payment details.

Companies will no longer be able to store card data, reducing the risk of data breaches. ESBProfessional/Shutterstock

The storage of personal information is a contested issue. For example, the 2022 Optus data breach exposed information from customers who had previously held accounts with the telco back in 2018.

Removing the ability of organisations to store payment details in the first place, removes the risk of this information being exposed in any future attack.

While any efforts to reduce fraud are welcome, this new approach raises some new issues to consider.

Potential problems with the new system

Mastercard has said customers will use tokens generated by the customer’s banking app or biometric authentication instead of card numbers.

This is likely to be an easy transition for customers who use mobile banking.

However, the use of digital banking is not universal. Many senior consumers and some people with a disability don’t use digital banking services. They would be excluded from the new protections.

While strengthening the security attached to credit cards, removing numbers shifts the vulnerability to mobile phones and telecommunication providers.

Offenders already access victims’ phones through mobile porting and impersonation scams. These attacks are likely to escalate as new ways to exploit potential vulnerabilities are found.

There are also concerns about biometrics. Unlike credit card details, which can be replaced when exposed in a data breach, biometrics are fixed. Shifting a focus to biometrics will increase the attractiveness of this data, and potentially opens victims up to ongoing, irreversible damage.

While not as common, breaches of biometric data do occur.

For example, web-based security platform BioStar 2 in the UK exposed the fingerprints and facial recognition details of over one million people. Closer to home, IT provider to entertainment companies Outabox is alleged to have exposed facial recognition data of more than one million Australians.

Will we really need cards in the future?

While removing the numbers may reduce credit card fraud, emerging smart retail technologies may remove the need for cards all together.

Smartphone payments are already becoming the norm, removing the need for physical cards. GlobalData revealed a 58% growth in mobile wallet payments in Australia in 2023, to $146.9 billion. In October 2024, 44% of payments were “device-present” transactions.

Amazon’s innovative “Just-Walk-Out” technology has also removed the need for consumers to bring a physical credit or debit card all together.

Amazon Go and the world’s most advanced shopping technology.

This technology is available at more than 70 Amazon-owned stores, and at more than 85 third-party locations across the US, UK, and Australia. These include sports stadiums, airports, grocery stores, convenience stores and college campuses.

The technology uses cameras, weight sensors and a combination of advanced AI technologies to enable shoppers in physical stores make purchases without having to swipe or tap their cards at the checkout line.

Such technology is now being offered by a variety of other vendors including Trigo, Cognizant and Grabango. It is also being trialled across other international retailers, including supermarket chains Tesco and ALDI.

While Just-Walk-Out removes the need to carry a physical card, at some point consumers still need to enter their cards details into an app. So, to avoid cards and numbers completely, smart retail tech providers are moving to biometric alternatives, like facial recognition payments.

Considering the speed at which smart retail and payment technology is entering the marketplace, it is likely physical credit cards, numberless or not, will soon become redundant, replaced by biometric payment options.

Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology and Cassandra Cross, Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Read More........ → February 18, 2025

UK announces planning reforms to speed up nuclear projects

The Rolls-Royce SMR is one of four designs under consideration for the UK's SMR programme (Image: Rolls-Royce SMR)

The UK government has announced plans to reform planning requirements and regulatory rules as part of measures to streamline the process of constructing new nuclear power plants in England and Wales, including small modular reactors.

"More nuclear power plants will be approved across England and Wales as the prime minister slashes red tape to get Britain building - as part of his Plan for Change," the government said. "Reforms to planning rules will clear a path for smaller, and easier to build nuclear reactors – known as small modular reactors (SMRs) – to be built for the first time ever in the UK."

The reforms include allowing new plants to be built anywhere across England and Wales, not just in the eight existing nuclear sites specified in current planning rules. However, the government said there will "continue to be robust criteria for nuclear reactor locations, including restrictions near densely-populated areas and military activity, alongside community engagement and high environmental standards".

It said "the refreshed planning framework will help streamline the process to encourage investment and enable developers to identify the best sites for their projects, supporting development at a wider range of locations". Developers will be "encouraged to bring forward sites as soon as possible at the pre-application stage in the planning process, speeding up overall timelines".

The reforms also include removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules so that projects do not get "timed out" and industry can plan for the long-term.

For the first time, in addition to large-scale nuclear power plants, new nuclear technologies such as SMRs and advanced modular reactors will be included, "providing flexibility to co-locate them with energy-intensive industrial sites such as AI data centres".

In addition, a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce will be established to ensure nuclear regulation incentivises investment to deliver new projects more quickly and cost efficiently, while upholding high safety and security standards. The taskforce - which will report directly to the prime minister - will speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators. This taskforce will better align the UK with international partners so reactor designs approved abroad could be approved more quickly, minimising expensive changes. It will also examine how to reduce duplication and simplify processes where there are multiple regulators covering overlapping issues, as well as ensuring regulatory decisions are both safe and proportionate.

"This country hasn't built a nuclear power station in decades - we've been let down, and left behind," said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "Our energy security has been hostage to Putin for too long, with British prices skyrocketing at his whims. I'm putting an end to it - changing the rules to back the builders of this nation, and saying no to the blockers who have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs for far too long."

Reforms welcomed

Last month, the government announced plans to limit legal challenges to major infrastructure projects - including nuclear power plants - to just one hearing in court instead of the current three hearings. It has also set out reforms to end the block and delay to building homes and infrastructure from current environmental obligations.

The announced planning reforms were welcomed by industry, with Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, saying: "This is the prime minister's strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission. A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.

"We need to make Britain the best possible place to build new nuclear, both large-scale and SMRs, which means avoiding unnecessary stumbling blocks and ensuring regulations are proportionate to our urgent need for low-carbon power, energy security and good jobs."

Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy - which is constructing the Hinkley Point C plant and plans to build Sizewell C - said: "As a major operator, investor and developer, EDF welcomes the proposals designed to speed up new nuclear projects in the UK and unlock economic growth. Nuclear is essential to a secure, low-carbon energy system and is the ideal partner to renewables. There is a great opportunity to build new infrastructure across England and Wales, to replace aging stations and take advantage of available skills, existing grid connections and supportive communities.

"The opportunity will only be fully realised with the necessary reforms to planning and regulation, alongside continuing to build on the critical work at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C to further develop skills and supply chains."

Great British Nuclear (GBN) continues to progress the SMR competition, with contract negotiations currently under way. A final decision on which design or designs will be included in the UK's official SMR programme is expected to be taken in the coming months.

GBN Chair Simon Bowen said: "Nuclear energy is a powerful tool for growing the UK's economy. By expanding the range of sites where safe, secure, reliable, and clean nuclear energy plants can be built, there is huge potential to positively transform areas facing economic uncertainty. "Today's announcement also signals exciting opportunities to co-locate nuclear energy generation on data centre sites and to decarbonise industrial processes. Nuclear is one of the safest and cleanest forms of energy generation. The new independent nuclear regulation taskforce will help unlock growth and investment by providing clarity and certainty while ensuring regulations are fit for purpose." UK announces planning reforms to speed up nuclear projects

Read More........ → February 13, 2025