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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchMastercard’s Payment Passkey Service uses a device passkey to authenticate eligible online Mastercard purchases. It may make card checkout quicker and less dependent on one-time passwords (OTPs), but it is not a new payment rail or a replacement for UPI. The service began with an India pilot announced on August 29, 2024; actual access still depends on the card issuer, merchant, payment provider and device.
What Mastercard launched in India
Mastercard calls the service the Mastercard Payment Passkey Service. It applies device-based authentication to remote card payments, including supported guest-checkout and stored-card flows. Mastercard also describes it in connection with Click to Pay-style checkout and other digital commerce uses.
The service brings together two distinct ideas: a passkey to authenticate an interaction and payment tokenization to protect card credentials. The purchase remains a Mastercard card transaction, subject to the merchant’s processing and the issuer’s authorization. Mastercard’s August 29, 2024 announcement described India as the site of the service’s global launch and identified the initial effort as a pilot—not universal access for every cardholder.
Mastercard’s current India consumer page describes authentication using a fingerprint, face scan or PIN. Depending on the device, native authentication can also include a password or pattern.
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How a payment passkey works at checkout
- Choose a Mastercard. At a participating online checkout, select an eligible Mastercard or use a supported saved-card or guest-checkout flow.
- Authenticate on the device. The merchant or payment provider requests passkey authentication. The customer confirms using an available device unlock method, such as a fingerprint, face recognition or device PIN.
- Let the payment proceed. Successful authentication lets checkout continue, but it does not itself approve the charge. The issuer can still decline it, and the merchant or payment provider may apply additional checks.
Mastercard says users enroll once and can then use the passkey at participating retailers. The precise enrollment route depends on the participating service; there is no universal setting or menu path for every issuer and merchant.
What a payment passkey changes—and what it does not
A general passkey is a passwordless credential for signing in to a website or app. A Mastercard payment passkey applies a similar device-based authentication approach to a payment interaction, associating the credential with a payment card or passkey profile. Mastercard says the service uses FIDO, EMVCo and Secure Remote Commerce-related standards.
Authentication is not the same as payment authorization. A passkey can confirm that the user or device approved the authentication request; the card network, issuer, merchant and payment providers still handle their respective roles in processing the transaction. A successful passkey check cannot override an expired or blocked card, insufficient available credit, risk controls or an issuer decline.
Mastercard Payment Passkey versus UPI
The phrase “takes on UPI” makes sense as a description of competition for online checkout preference: both can offer a quick way to pay. It is not a precise description of the underlying technology. Mastercard Payment Passkey authenticates remote card payments; UPI is an account-to-account payment system operated through participating banks and payment-service-provider apps.
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| Feature | Mastercard Payment Passkey | UPI |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying payment | Card payment, generally remote and tokenized | Bank-account-to-bank-account payment |
| Typical authentication | Device biometrics or a device PIN, password or pattern | UPI PIN in established flows; NPCI has also introduced additional authentication methods under its rules |
| Network and participants | Mastercard ecosystem, participating issuers, merchants and payment providers | NPCI-operated ecosystem involving banks and PSP apps |
| Common uses | Online card checkout, guest checkout and supported card-on-file flows | QR payments, UPI ID or account-based transfers, collect requests and merchant checkout |
| What it changes | Can reduce manual card-entry and some OTP or password steps in supported flows | Provides an interoperable route for payments from linked bank accounts |
NPCI’s BHIM UPI overview describes bank-to-bank payments using identifiers such as a UPI ID, mobile number, account details or QR code. NPCI’s circular on additional UPI authentication methods is a separate development; it does not make Mastercard’s payment passkey a UPI feature.
Why reduce reliance on OTPs?
In supported checkouts, passkey authentication can avoid waiting for an SMS OTP or moving through a separate authentication step. OTP delivery can be delayed or fail, and codes can be exposed through phishing, SIM swapping, message interception or social engineering. Mastercard presents reduced friction and stronger security as benefits of the service.
A passkey changes the risks; it does not eliminate them. It can reduce exposure to some phishing and SMS-interception attacks, but it cannot guarantee that a transaction is legitimate. Malware, a compromised device or merchant account, a stolen device, issuer or merchant account takeover, and scams that persuade someone to authenticate a purchase remain possible. A customer can still be tricked into approving the wrong transaction.
Mastercard’s security and checkout-performance benefits are its stated aims; the cited launch announcement does not establish independent, merchant-specific fraud or conversion results.
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What tokenization adds
Tokenization replaces the underlying card number in a transaction flow with a substitute payment token. It can help reduce how often the actual card number is exposed to a merchant or intermediary. Mastercard describes its checkout services as using unique tokens to secure online payments and protect sensitive card data.
- Biometrics or device credentials unlock the credential locally on the device.
- The passkey authenticates the payment-related interaction.
- The token helps protect the card credential used in the payment flow.
These protections work together, but none guarantees that a payment will be authorized or that a user cannot be deceived.
Does Mastercard receive your fingerprint or face data?
Mastercard says fingerprints, face-authentication data and device PINs or passcodes do not leave the device. In this model, the device’s local authentication mechanism unlocks a cryptographic credential; the claim is not that Mastercard receives a fingerprint image and checks it against a central biometric database.
That does not mean the service processes no personal information. Its India privacy notice, effective March 2026, describes information that may include profile, card-association, device, phone-number, email, authentication and transaction-related data. Review the notice and applicable terms for the particular service and market.
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Who can use Mastercard Payment Passkey in India?
Mastercard maintains an India consumer information page, but that alone does not mean every Mastercard holder can enroll or use the service. Its terms say availability can vary by market, participating party, issuer, location and technical capability.
- The issuer and card must be eligible for the flow.
- The merchant and its payment provider must support the service.
- The phone or computer must support the required passkey and device authentication features.
- The user may need to complete an enrollment step.
The first India pilot named Axis Bank as an issuing-bank partner, alongside Juspay, Razorpay, PayU and BigBasket. Those partners were part of the 2024 pilot; the announcement should not be read as a current, exhaustive list of participating issuers or merchants.
At checkout, look for a passkey or device-authentication prompt when paying with an eligible Mastercard. If it does not appear, the issuer, merchant, processor, card or device may not support that particular flow. Mastercard’s India terms of use set out the service’s participation and technical limitations.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What if biometrics fail or the payment is declined?
A device may offer a PIN, passcode, password or pattern when fingerprint or face recognition is unavailable. Depending on the issuer and merchant implementation, checkout may instead use another authentication method, which could include an OTP. The fallback is not identical in every flow.
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Even when authentication succeeds, the issuer may decline the payment. Passkey authentication does not bypass card status, available funds or credit, merchant risk controls, geographic restrictions or other authorization requirements. Mastercard’s terms also do not guarantee that a transaction will complete or be authorized. Replacing a device may require enrollment again or account recovery through the participating service.
What changed in the card-passkey market?
Mastercard’s India initiative is no longer the only card-network passkey effort in the market. On February 7, 2026, Visa announced that Visa Payment Passkey went live in India, initially with IDFC FIRST Bank and selected merchants including Myntra, Paytm, MakeMyTrip, Tata Starbucks, Reliance Digital and EatSure. The launch points to a broader card-network effort to streamline online card authentication in a market where consumers are accustomed to fast digital checkout.
For consumers, the practical distinction is whether a passkey is supported where they shop and whether it fits their device and payment habits. Card rewards, credit terms, foreign-exchange charges and dispute rights are separate from passkey security. UPI remains a different payment option, not something a Mastercard passkey converts a card transaction into.
What merchants should weigh
For merchants, a passkey is an integration and checkout decision, not a feature that can be enabled by a customer buying a particular phone or card. A merchant should consider:
- Whether its gateway, processor and acquiring setup support the service.
- Coverage across its customers’ browsers, devices and Mastercard cards.
- Compatibility with guest checkout and existing saved-card flows.
- Fallback authentication, customer support and card-token lifecycle management.
- How conversion and fraud outcomes compare with its own OTP, 3-D Secure and UPI flows.
- Whether its customer base has enough Mastercard volume to justify the integration.
Mastercard markets its commercial checkout services around tokenization, fraud controls and reduced friction, but a merchant should treat conversion benefits as something to measure in its own checkout data rather than assume as a guaranteed result.
What the “takes on UPI” headline really means
Mastercard is competing for a smoother online payment experience, not replacing UPI’s bank-transfer infrastructure. The service may make an eligible card payment easier to authenticate, while UPI continues to serve account-to-account payments through its own network. The useful question for a consumer is not which one has replaced the other, but which payment method is accepted and best suited to a particular purchase.
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