Mastercard has introduced Mastercard Threat Intelligence, the world’s first large-scale threat intelligence solution designed specifically for the payments ecosystem. The new solution combines Mastercard’s extensive fraud detection data and global network visibility with curated cyber threat intelligence from Recorded Future, enabling financial institutions to proactively detect, prevent, and respond to cyber-enabled payment fraud.
Traditionally, fraud doesn’t begin at the transaction stage — it often starts with a cyberattack. According to Mastercard, nearly 60% of global fraud leaders say they are only notified of cyber breaches after financial losses occur. With cybercrime and financial crime increasingly intertwined, the new solution aims to bridge the gap between fraud and cybersecurity teams, helping organizations act before damage occurs.
“As the lines between cybercrime and financial crime continue to blur, innovation is an imperative,” said Johan Gerber, Global Head of Security Solutions at Mastercard. “Mastercard Threat Intelligence provides customers with actionable, real-time, and targeted risk insights to disrupt fraudulent transactions and strengthen defenses.”
Key Features of Mastercard Threat Intelligence
- Card Testing Detection: Real-time alerts and proactive blocking of fraudulent test transactions to protect cardholders and reduce downstream fraud.
- Digital Skimming Intelligence: Quantitative data to detect and mitigate card skimming and related malware, supported by Mastercard’s collaboration with industry partners.
- Merchant Threat Intelligence: Targeted fraud insights and merchant risk assessments to speed up incident response.
- Ecosystem Threat Reports: Weekly updates on emerging vulnerabilities across the global payments landscape.
- Payment Intelligence Reports: In-depth analyses of fraud trends and case studies to guide strategic decision-making.
The launch comes less than a year after Mastercard completed its acquisition of Recorded Future, signaling a strategic move toward building an intelligence-driven defense framework for the digital economy.
Tracy (Kitten) Goldberg, Director of Cybersecurity at Javelin Strategy & Research, emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration:
“Effective cybersecurity will increasingly depend on threat intelligence that crosses sectors and regions. Vendors with broad transactional data and analytics will play a key role in improving information-sharing across the financial ecosystem.”
Early testing has already shown promising results. Mastercard’s threat data helped partners identify and dismantle malicious domains linked to stolen payment card data, impacting nearly 9,500 e-commerce sites and connected to an estimated $120 million in fraud.
Irvin Salinas Pineda, a fraud expert at Banco Mercantil del Norte, noted that the new solution will help financial institutions “keep pace with major threats and emerging trends,” allowing teams to stay proactive in today’s rapidly evolving cyber landscape.
With Mastercard Threat Intelligence, the company aims to redefine how financial institutions combat fraud — not by reacting after the fact, but by stopping it before it starts.
