The new tech is now being tested in Amsterdam, with nine out of ten participants saying they would like to replace their passwords with these biometric identification methods, according to a MasterCard survey.
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MasterCard says it will roll out an application for cardholders to use a picture of their face (selfie), or their fingerprint, to verify their identity when making mobile online purchases.
Ann Cairns, head of worldwide markets for MasterCard told CNBC that the checks could help people in developing markets who may not have official ID documents.
Paying with biometric technology is easier than remembering passwords and can be more secure as biometric data are hard to steal, Murchie said.
At the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona these days, MasterCard has announced that, starting this summer, these payment options and the pilot program will be expanded to more countries. But this is the first time a major credit card issuer is using such a technique, and face recognition authentication is thought to be harder to crack than PIN and passwords. “You just wear a bracelet and it sends a signal to devices you’re near to prove you’re you”.
The new system will also allow payments via smartphone fingerprint recognition. Each time they want to make an online purchase with their card, they will be prompted to look into their phone’s camera before completing the transaction, so the image can be digitally matched against the selfie on file. “If they can introduce a mechanism that makes the system more secure than merely asking for a password, then the hope would be that fraud levels decrease and the savings can be passed back onto merchants, and perhaps consumers too”.
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“Even though it could be compromised, I feel like the fingerprint could be better”. Privacy is also a concern.
