Mastercard is launching a consumer protection plan to reduce fraud at the gasoline pump as it postpones the EMV Automated Fuel Dispenser liability deadline for fuel merchants until April 2021. 

Mastercard is joining other major card companies in providing a six-month extension on the deadline for upgrading to more secure EMV terminals, however the company is rolling out a new program designed to help mitigate the risk, according to a press release.

"Many fuel companies have made the shift to a safer and more secure EMV environment and we applaud them for doing so," Kush Saxena, executive vice president, U.S. merchants and acceptance at Mastercard, said in the release. "The new program we are putting into the market provides a new and differentiated layer of protection, thus securing customers and mitigating losses for all parties."

Mastercard issuing banks will get enhanced data on high-risk fraud transactions at fuel merchants, which the company said will help stop fraud before it takes place. The company will also develop a compliance program at certain merchants with high levels of fraud and make sure they have remediation plans in place.