Mastercard and Jordan Kuwait Bank Launch First World Elite Biometric Credit Card in Middle East & Africa

Mastercard and Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB) have partnered to launch the Jordan Kuwait Bank Biometric World Elite Mastercard – the first commercially-available Mastercard biometric card in Jordan and the first World Elite card in the Middle East and Africa region to feature biometric authentication

Benefiting from Mastercard’s industry-leading technology, Jordan Kuwait Bank cardholders will be the first in Jordan to enjoy fast and easy payments at any standard point of sale terminal using their registered fingerprint instead of a PIN, adding an extra level of security built into the card.

The Mastercard Biometric Card innovation combines chip technology with a unique fingerprint template on the card to enable fingerprint cardholder identity for in-store purchases. The technology provides proof of identity just as quickly as a PIN.

J.K. Khalil, Country Manager, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Levant, Mastercard said, “The Biometric World Elite Card is an exciting new solution that will provide Jordan Kuwait Bank cardholders with a more secure and yet equally seamless payment authentication, resulting in an enhanced overall experience when making payments. Jordanian consumers have demonstrated their enthusiasm towards emerging payment technologies in general, and we are delighted to partner with Jordan Kuwait Bank to bring its most affluent customers state of the art advancements in fingerprint and biometric authentication technology. In a contact-free world, we believe customers will value such a feature that provides them complete touch free experiences even for large transactions during physical (known as Card Present) shopping”.

The recently released Mastercard New Payments Index highlights consumers’ enthusiasm towards emerging payment technologies. Almost half of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) said they plan to use biometric verification methods like gait or walk assessments and fingerprint authorization. In addition, two thirds of people (66%) feel safer using biometrics to verify a purchase than entering a PIN number.

Haethum Buttikhi, Chief Executive Officer at Jordan Kuwait Bank explained how the Mastercard Biometric World Elite Card will support the bank’s customers: “The Jordan Kuwait Bank Biometric World Elite Mastercard Credit Card represents a new generation of technologically advanced cards that will provide JKB cardholders with better security and peace of mind when paying for goods in-store. We are delighted to provide consumers with Jordan’s first Mastercard Biometric Card experience.”

In addition to better security, Jordan Kuwait Bank Biometric World Elite Mastercard cardholders can enjoy World Elite privileges, which include lifestyle, travel and insurance benefits designed to help cardholders create extraordinary experiences and cultivate a lifestyle that suits their unique needs.