MasterCard launching banking card with OTP capability

SINGAPORE--MasterCard Worldwide, working with Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, is releasing a banking card with and LCD display and keypad that is able to generate One-Time Passwords (OTPs).

In a statement Wednesday, the payment company said the MasterCard Display Card is almost exactly like a regular credit, debit or ATM card. However, it has an embedded LCD display and touch-sensitive buttons for the card holder to generate an OTP as an authentication security measure.

Currently, banks in Singapore require a separate authentication token or device to generate OTPs. Thus the Display Card cuts down on the number of devices the bank account holder has to carry.

V. Subba, regional head of retail banking products for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Standard Chartered Bank said: "In Singapore, many customers bank with multiple banks...The question was: instead of sending customers another bulky token, could we replace something which already exists in the customer’s wallet? That was when credit, debit and ATM cards, immediately came to mind."

Starting January 2013, all Standard Chartered Online Banking or Breeze Mobile Banking users will use the new token card as a personal security device for "higher-risk transactions" such as payments or transfers above a certain amount, adding third party payees, or changing personal details, the statement said.

In the future, the card might include additional functions and display real time information such as available credit balance, loyalty or reward points, recent transactions, and other interactive information, it noted.

Mastercard noted Standard Chartered Bank's deployment of the MasterCard Display Cards is the largest deployment to date.