How is Mastercard's New Trust Platform Combatting Scams?

Mastercard is intensifying its efforts to combat scam merchants with the introduction of Merchant Trust Services.

The solution aims to intercept fraudulent businesses before they reach consumers, leveraging the company’s network intelligence and real-time analytics.

Through Merchant Trust Services, Mastercard addresses a key vulnerability in the payments value chain by identifying high-risk merchants early, rather than responding after damage has occurred.

A fast-growing, harder-to-detect threat

The rise of scam merchants is closely linked to the growth of ecommerce over the past five years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters quickly learned how easy it was to build convincing online storefronts, complete with professional design and fully functional checkout systems.

Today, Gen AI allows scammers to create polished websites, fake reviews and even deepfake endorsements in minutes, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent businesses.

The financial impact is significant, with consumers losing US$442bn globally to online scams in 2025, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.

Merchant Trust Services is Mastercard’s response to this growing threat.

The product combines signals from across its global network, including transaction behaviour, identity data and external digital indicators, to build a more complete view of merchant risk.

That intelligence is then used to support acquirers during merchant onboarding, helping them identify suspicious businesses before approval.

It also enables ongoing monitoring, so emerging risks can be flagged as merchant behaviour changes.

“Digital commerce only works when people trust what’s on the other side of the screen,” says Ann Johnson, Executive Vice President of Security Solutions at Mastercard. 

“If we let scammers keep posing as legitimate businesses, we don’t just lose money – we lose confidence. We need to secure this trust for the good of the entire digital ecosystem: from consumers to banks and the honest merchants who are trying to grow.”

Real-time signals for issuers

Alongside Merchant Trust Services, Mastercard is also launching the Merchant Scam & Risk Indicator (MSRI), extending these intelligence capabilities directly to issuers at the point of transaction.

MSRI delivers real-time risk insights during the authorisation process, enabling cardholder banks to make more informed decisions and take action earlier.

During pilot programmes, the solution identified approximately 80% of high-risk merchants flagged by issuers – in some cases as much as 90 days before formal escalation.

By providing earlier visibility into emerging threats, the tool has the potential to significantly reduce the operational impact of scams, from dispute management through to the reissuance of compromised cards.

Simon Collins, Mastercard’s Chief Franchise Officer, says: “Every bad experience online makes shoppers second-guess legitimate businesses – and that makes it harder for real merchants to win and keep customers.

“When confidence cracks, businesses pay for it in more declines, more disputes and more abandoned carts.”

Faster action, tighter standards

Technology is only one part of the equation. Mastercard is also strengthening its network rules to support faster, more consistent responses to emerging threats.

From July, acquirers and payment facilitators will be required to investigate suspicious merchant activity within 72 hours once defined risk thresholds are triggered.

Where fraudulent behaviour is confirmed, merchants will be prevented from accepting Mastercard payments.

The shortened response window is intended to reflect the pace at which scam merchants operate – often launching, scaling and disappearing within a matter of days.

Central to Mastercard’s approach is the development of a dynamic, 360-degree view of merchant trust.

By combining internal transaction intelligence with external indicators – including shifts in business activity and negative online sentiment – the company aims to maintain a continuously evolving risk profile across the merchant lifecycle.

The broader objective is both straightforward and far-reaching: to build trust directly into the foundations of digital commerce, rather than responding to fraud only after it has occurred.

“If we want everyone to benefit from the digital economy – from a small business starting out to a family shopping online – then trust has to be built in, not bolted on after something goes wrong,” Ann continues.

“The price of convenience should never be fear.”