Sydney, Australia – September 2026 – Bolt Group today announced it is the first issuer in Australia selected by Mastercard to take part in the rollout of Mastercard Payment Passkey, which lets customers approve online payments with Face ID or a fingerprint instead of passwords and SMS codes.

The check happens on the customer's own device, and their biometric data never leaves it. It allows them to checkout quicker without waiting for a one-time code, and it's harder for scammers to exploit because there's no code to intercept or password to phish.

The rollout is also a step towards Mastercard Agent Pay, which is designed to let AI agents complete purchases on a customer's behalf. Under that model, the customer gives a biometric approval before an agent can transact, so a person stays in control of automated payments.