MasterCard is trying out the "Selfie Pay"
An industry analyst for CreditCards.com says one-third of customers have bailed on an online purchase because they couldn't remember their passwords.
Now comes a new way for the selfie generation to pay. Ajay Bhalla, president of Enterprise Security Solutions for MasterCard, says this new technology will change the consumer experience of shopping digitally.
To use the selfie payment option, a customer would first download its Identity Check app. If they are buying a product from a merchant that requires their identity to be verified, they will get a push notification to their mobile device, which opens the app. They then hold up their phone, like taking a selfie, blink, and they're done.
The blink prevents a criminal from just holding up another person's picture. A facial recognition scan converts your features into a string of ones an zeros.
After downloading the identity check app, you can go shopping. When it's time to check out, you'll get a push notification to your mobile device which opens the app. You hold up your phone, like taking a selfie, and blink.
According to USA Today, a facial recognition image taken at the time of the transaction is compared with the enrollment image. No image from the purchase is stored.
MasterCard isn't the only card company working on new ways to check out. Visa has a blueprint to enable the use of fingerprints, a face, palm and other biometrics as verification.
MasterCard is also looking at the possibility of voice recognition or even a person's heartbeat being able to confirm their identity.
It's technology in action.
