MasterCard says it will invest an $20 million in cybersecurity measures this year, including biometric protection for mobile apps and early warning alerts on potential threat vectors.

In a press release, the company said that this spring it will launch Safety Net, an initiative to reduce the risk of fraud or cyberattacks before issuers and processors might notice the threat.

The card scheme said Safety Net will provide "an independent layer of security on top of the tools and policies of financial institutions, by monitoring and blocking specific transactions based on selected criteria."

The application uses algorithms to score and monitor different channels, geographies, and business sectors, and is designed to intervene only in extreme cases to block fraudulent activity, the release said.

At the cardholder level, MasterCard is working with First Tech Federal Credit Union on a pilot program that will enable consumers to authenticate and verify transactions using a combination of biometrics. In September last year, MasterCard claimed a 98 percent success rate for internal pilot trials of a biometric verification system combining both voice and facial recognition.

"While progress is being made with the move to EMV and mobile payments, our continued investments reinforce the efforts we are taking to protect the payments system for cardholders, merchants and issuers," Chris McWilton, MasterCard president North American Markets, said in the release.