Mastercard To Authenticate Your Online Purchases With Your SELFIES
MasterCard is experimenting a new app that would let you make online purchases by taking a selfie rather than typing a password, moving a step forward in the mobile payments evolution.
This experimental ID Check security system uses the front camera of your mobile phone and "facial recognition" technology to get your payment done with a quick shot of your face.
At checkout, you'll be asked to hold up your phone and snap a photo. MasterCard's thinking? It's easier than remembering a password.
"The new generation, which is into selfies ... I think they'll find it cool. They'll embrace it," said Ajay Bhalla on CNN Money, who's in charge of coming up with innovative solutions for MasterCard's security challenges.
This is MasterCard's way of cutting down fraud.
Currently, customers can set up something called "SecureCode," which requires a password when shopping online. This stops credit-card-number-stealing hackers from actually using your card on the Web. It was used in 3 billion transactions last year, the company said.
MasterCard (MA) will launch a small pilot program that uses fingerprints -- but also facial scans. It'll be a limited experiment involving 500 customers. But, once it works out all the kinks, MasterCard plans to launch it publicly sometime after that.
To pull this off, MasterCard said it has partnered with every smartphone maker, including Apple (AAPL, Tech30), BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30), Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), and Samsung (SSNLF). The credit card company is still finalizing deals with two major banks, so it wasn't ready to say whose customers will get this first.
After you make an online payment, the new app will provide you options to authorize your payment. If you go with the fingerprint, it scans your touch; and if you choose facial recognition, you just need to do is…
Hold up your phone – Stare your mirror image inside a designated circle – Blink once – and you are done.
The credit card company said it does not actually capture or reconstruct a picture of your finger or face. All a fingerprint scanner do is creating a code that stays on your device.
Similarly, a facial recognition scan will map out the picture of your face, convert it to 1’s and 0’s and then securely transmit that information over the Internet to MasterCard.
Bhalla promised that this information remains safe on the company's computer servers and that the company won't be able to reconstruct your face.
The payments giant will pilot the new facial recognition system to only about 500 cardholders at first. However, once this new system works out all the kinks, MasterCard will inevitably launch it publicly for everyone.
You may also like to read:
PayPal Wants to Kill All Password and Replace it with Natural Body Identification
This experimental ID Check security system uses the front camera of your mobile phone and "facial recognition" technology to get your payment done with a quick shot of your face.
At checkout, you'll be asked to hold up your phone and snap a photo. MasterCard's thinking? It's easier than remembering a password.
"The new generation, which is into selfies ... I think they'll find it cool. They'll embrace it," said Ajay Bhalla on CNN Money, who's in charge of coming up with innovative solutions for MasterCard's security challenges.
This is MasterCard's way of cutting down fraud.
Currently, customers can set up something called "SecureCode," which requires a password when shopping online. This stops credit-card-number-stealing hackers from actually using your card on the Web. It was used in 3 billion transactions last year, the company said.
MasterCard (MA) will launch a small pilot program that uses fingerprints -- but also facial scans. It'll be a limited experiment involving 500 customers. But, once it works out all the kinks, MasterCard plans to launch it publicly sometime after that.
To pull this off, MasterCard said it has partnered with every smartphone maker, including Apple (AAPL, Tech30), BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30), Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), and Samsung (SSNLF). The credit card company is still finalizing deals with two major banks, so it wasn't ready to say whose customers will get this first.
How this new feature works?
MasterCard will provide you a new mobile app to download in order to use the feature.
After you make an online payment, the new app will provide you options to authorize your payment. If you go with the fingerprint, it scans your touch; and if you choose facial recognition, you just need to do is…
Hold up your phone – Stare your mirror image inside a designated circle – Blink once – and you are done.
But why blinking your eyes?
According to MasterCard's security researchers, blinking is the best practice to prevent a criminal from just holding up a snap of you and fooling the security system.
Is the feature Secure?
The credit card company said it does not actually capture or reconstruct a picture of your finger or face. All a fingerprint scanner do is creating a code that stays on your device.
Similarly, a facial recognition scan will map out the picture of your face, convert it to 1’s and 0’s and then securely transmit that information over the Internet to MasterCard.
Bhalla promised that this information remains safe on the company's computer servers and that the company won't be able to reconstruct your face.
The payments giant will pilot the new facial recognition system to only about 500 cardholders at first. However, once this new system works out all the kinks, MasterCard will inevitably launch it publicly for everyone.
You may also like to read:
PayPal Wants to Kill All Password and Replace it with Natural Body Identification
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