Fintech Power: Mastercard Partners with Atlantis to Expand Digital First Program in India

Global payments giant Mastercard is bringing its Digital First Program to India. The program entails instant issuance of cards to encourage tech savvy users to enjoy the speed, agility, and security of digital payments

Addressing the growing demand for digital payment solutions for everything, from buying coffee to ordering groceries, Mastercard today, in partnership with Atlantis, announced the expansion of the Digital First Program in India. Mastercard is partnering with Atlantis, a financial technology company headquartered in Singapore, to provide users with a technology solution that will enable them to enjoy a best-in-class digital banking experience.

Cardholders will no longer need to wait to receive a physical card to begin using their cards for online shopping or at physical stores

Following the launch in India, the partnership will subsequently expand to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Atlantis has recently announced the launch of its Neo-Bank platform in India for Gen Z and Millennials. The company is looking at the opportunity in India with 10 million-plus youth across the country. Together with Mastercard’s Digital First program, they will offer users an end to end digital payments product.

“We are focused on designing a bank around humans for the AI first world. The Digital First program is a step towards the long-term trajectory of autonomous finance. We are excited to partner with Mastercard and leverage their technology capabilities to move forward in that direction,” Atlantis founder Gaurav Sharma said in a statement.

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“Mastercard offers a payments experience that reflects the lifestyle of today’s tech savvy generation that expects everything to be fast, frictionless, and secure. Mastercard is delighted to partner with Atlantis to extend the Digital First Program to allow more of their users to enjoy immediate account access and convenient payments. This partnership will set new benchmarks for neo-banking in India and further boost digital adoption among consumers,” Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Mastercard said.

Benefits of the Program

The Digital First Program aims to reignite users’ relationships with more meaningful experiences. Users will be able to use their cards/accounts for digital transactions within minutes of application, enabled by a fully digital online application and issuance process, including video KYC (in collaboration with Signzy). Cardholders will no longer need to wait to receive a physical card to begin using their cards for online shopping or at physical stores.

Besides near-instant access to card information, users will also enjoy the flexibility to shop with ease, and a peace-of-mind to transact securely. Further, users can control their own spending and set usage alerts directly from the mobile app, allowing them to manage spending thresholds. Users will also have the option to pay anytime, anywhere that Mastercard cards are accepted globally, for both card and account-based payments as well as access offers and Mastercard Priceless Experiences.

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The Digital First program is operational with prepaid, debit, and credit cards and account-based payments through any digital device. In addition to having immediate account access and frictionless payment with Digital-First, physical plastic cards are optional.

A year ago, Mastercard partnered with Apple to launch the first ever Digital First program. Not only was it the beginning of a momentous consumer mindset shift, but it was the start of a new journey from an institutional ‘physical card first’ environment to where we are today – a Digital First world.