The new system will be launched as part of a raft of new mobile technologies that let customers authenticate online purchases using fingerprints and selfies. Soon Mastercard will begin accepting self-portraits and fingerprint scans as an alternative to passwords from cardholders who are verifying an online purchase.
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The increasing sophistication of mobile devices will allow highly personalized, biometric authentication if mobile and online, as well as in-store, transactions.
As Digital Spy reports citing BBC News, the credit company will roll out the verification through a new Identity Check app this summer in the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard (MA), said that the technology will become commonplace around the world within five years.
Bhalla said that using facial and fingerprint scans for purchases is safer than typed passwords since many customers foolishly use easy-to-guess codes. Additional reassurance was given by MasterCard who said that facial scans and fingerprint data will not be transmitted in a way which could be hacked, stolen or compromised.
However, if a further authentication check is required, users with the app will be asked to submit a fingerprint using their phone’s sensor, or look at their camera to submit a selfie.
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Mastercard is also reportedly developing an even more intimate way for customers to verify their identity: with their heartbeats. Mastercard also plans to test authentication via heartbeat, iris scan and voice recognition. HSBC will use voice biometrics technology to analyze your voice and recognize it when you call back.
