Use Selfies to Verify Payments With MasterCard
Your front-facing camera will soon authenticate payments as being tested out in a pilot program with First Tech Federal Credit Union. The financial services company MasterCard is experimenting on the use of facial recognition technology to authorize payments.
This security feature will be useful in preventing illicit use of cards for online payments, replacing the current password or PIN protection MasterCard is using.
The technology works through an app installed on a smartphone which is linked to the card account. When a person attempts to use their card for an online payment, the app will ask for a verification. Depending on their phone specs, they can choose to either verify with fingerprints or by a selfie.
The selfie route is simple and, hopefully, hack-proof. Just look at the camera, make sure your face fits the circle and blink. The blinking makes sure the app is looking at an actual face and not just a photo. Once the app gives the “OK,” the online transaction will push through.
While it might be worrying for some that their face pics will be linked to their credit cards on some server, MasterCard reassures that there will be no selfies stored anywhere. CNN Money reports that an algorithm is extracted from the photos, dependent on crucial points. If servers are hacked with your selfie data in it, it would be impossible to recreate your face.
Now, until November 30, the technology will be put to the test in the Netherlands. In the United States, the technology will be tested by over 200 employees of First Tech Federal Credit Union where they will be able to donate to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital using the technology dubbed Selfie Pay.
Catherine Murchie, Senior Vice President of U.S. Processing, Network & Enterprise Security Solutions for MasterCard says:
A recent MasterCard survey found that 83 percent of consumers are excited about new secure technologies helping to protect their financial information. In the same survey, three-fourths (75 percent) of consumers stated that they have heard of biometric payments. We’re excited to be on the cutting edge of exploring biometrics and engaged in the first U.S. pilot with First Tech Federal Credit Union.
In China, paying through your face follows a different system. Special hardware scans the blood vessels under the skin, which is unique for every person, as an alternative to fingerprints. MasterCard’s innovation, which requires the mundane front facing camera, might be easier to adapt.