The global financial services firm Mastercard, in tandem with anthropologist Dr Indira Arumugam, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, set out to understand the motivation behind peoples’ search for peace-of-mind protection and how that manifest into action and behavior.

The need for peace-of-mind protection is an ideal analogy that best describes Mastercard’s commitment to continuously deliver greater protection for cardholders in the digital world. The study helps Mastercard better understand deep-seated fears and concerns pertaining to peace-of-mind protection — ultimately helping Mastercard develop safety and security practices that feel innately familiar.

The study shows four key motivations behind almost every form of peace-of-mind protection. These include the need for increased or better sense of control; reduce uncertainty in tasks ahead; locate the source of a threat if it arises and limit or manage risk.

According to Dr. Indira Arumugam, “Ultimately all forms of protection were done or used to reassure and motivate humans to carry out tasks and most were to protect either life or financial investments like livestock, businesses, savings and property giving the user a sense of peace of mind.”

Mastercard cardholders can pay online with full peace of mind with Mastercard® SecureCode™, an additional layer of online protection. Mastercard SecureCode helps verify that the cardholder is making the purchase when cardholders transact online at a participating merchant. It is usually offered as a one-time-password generated by the issuing bank.

Transaction Alerts reduces the chances of fraudulent purchases being made without your knowledge — with messages that notify you whenever your card is used.

E-commerce protection helps limit risk by providing worldwide coverage when purchased items don’t come the way they are supposed to, if at all.