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Soon, MasterCard could let you approve purchases with your face

By Koh Wanzi - on 3 Jul 2015, 10:23pm

Soon, MasterCard could let you approve purchases with your face

Image Source: CNN Money

It looks like biometric security is here to stay. MasterCard has announced that it will begin experimenting with a new payment method to approve online purchases with a face-recognition scan this fall.

The new initiative is part of MasterCard’s efforts to cut down on credit card fraud and prevent stolen card numbers from being misused. MasterCard currently allows customers to set up something called “Secure Code”, which requires them to enter a password as an additional step of verification when shopping online.

The face recognition program serves a similar purpose as “Secure Code”, aiming to make online purchases and credit card information more secure. MasterCard says that younger customers will take to the new method, and they are probably right.

The pilot program will start off small, involving 500 customers in a limited experiment. Once MasterCard identifies and irons out any kinks, it’ll proceed to a public launch sometime after. This isn’t a solo initiative on the part of MasterCard and it counts among its partners major smartphone vendors like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and even BlackBerry. In addition, deals with two major banks are also in the works, although MasterCard didn’t specify which banks.

To use the feature, users must first download MasterCard’s phone app. Users will have the option to choose either fingerprint or facial recognition. But in order to authenticate your face, the app will require you to blink once. This is to prevent a thief from fooling the system by holding up a picture of your face.

All this is made more secure by the fact that MasterCard doesn’t actually store your picture or fingerprint. Instead, biometric data is converted into binary code — a series of 1s and 0s — and transmitted to MasterCard, which will have no way of reconstructing your face or fingerprint.

Next in store? A collaboration with Canadian firm Nymi to develop technology that approves transactions by recognizing your unique heartbeat. That means uninterrupted payments, with no additional pause needed for verification. Soon, credit card fraud might be a thing of the past.

Source: CNN Money via Engadget

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