Entersekt to Authenticate Plata’s Mexico Credit Card Offering

Mexican FinTech Plata chose Entersekt to provide authentication services for its new credit card.

The partnership will allow for low-friction payment authentication with “risk-aware 3D Secure,” a burgeoning regulatory requirement, according to a Monday (Oct. 23) press release.

“Unlike the European Union and many other regions, 3D Secure is not yet a regulatory requirement in the Americas, but it is quickly gaining traction as its security benefits, particularly in eCommerce, drive uptake,” the companies said in the release.

The partnership will help financial inclusion in Mexico at a time when 10.5% of the adult population owns a credit card, the release said, citing the country’s National Financial Inclusion Survey.

Working with Entersekt also helps Plata deal with fraud, which the companies said in the release has “plagued” the Mexican eCommerce sector.

“Rampant fraud results in consumers losing trust in transacting online and crippling eCommerce growth,” said Entersekt CEO Schalk Nolte in the release. “We have seen how 3D Secure can slash the amount of card-not-present fraud, helping build trust in online transactions.”

PYMNTS spoke last month with Greg Esser, director of strategic partnerships in the U.S. at Entersekt, about the importance of data sharing in authenticating transactions.

“If we don’t do it, then we’re going to be stuck in a negative infinity loop that just keeps on going … until the marketplace puts its hands up and says, ‘All right, we have to make an adjustment,’” he told PYMNTS.

Esser added that “we’re moving in the right direction, across the globe, with regulations changing” and with marketplaces and financial institutions (FIs) getting a greater understanding of who their cardholders are — and aren’t — via data and behavioral biometrics.

Working with providers and platforms can ease the transition and minimize dependence on one-time-passcodes delivered over mobile SMS and email, as well as improve consumer experience.

Entersekt’s partnership with Plata comes days after the company announced it launched a mobile application authentication solution for FIs, using the Q2 Digital Banking Platform.

The company said this solution, developed in partnership with Q2, provides authentication features within the mobile banking platform and lets FIs protect against various types of fraud, including account takeover fraud, ACH and wire fraud and device takeover fraud.