Mastercard brings First-Party Trust fraud tool to EMEA markets

Mastercard is bringing its First-Party Trust programme to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to help distinguish genuine fraud from disputed legitimate transactions.

The initiative targets so-called friendly fraud — instances where cardholders challenge legitimate purchases, either intentionally or because they fail to recognise the charge on their statement.

First-Party Trust enables merchants, including smaller businesses, to transmit transaction details to card issuers either at the point of purchase or when disputes arise.

Enhanced access to evidence aims to cut down on unwarranted chargebacks and the costs both sides face as a result, the card network said.

During authorisation, Mastercard's fraud detection models generate signals that help issuers separate unauthorised card use from first-party fraud. The system flags transactions with elevated trust scores while identifying those that may involve third-party fraud.

When cardholders challenge a purchase, merchants can submit supporting evidence including purchase records, delivery confirmations, and authentication data where relevant.

The programme establishes standards for what evidence issuers can consider when evaluating disputes. Merchants may qualify for chargeback protection if a dispute satisfies First-Party Trust's evidence-sharing criteria.

As digital commerce continues to grow, building trust across the ecosystem has never been more important

Michele Centemero, executive vice president at Mastercard Services Europe, emphasised the value of giving merchants and issuers access to the transaction information needed to assess disputed purchases. Doing so can reduce unnecessary disputes while bolstering confidence across the payments ecosystem, he said.

Mastercard introduced First-Party Trust in the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific during 2024.

The programme launches in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa this month. A broader European deployment is scheduled for July 2027.