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MasterCard Trial Runs Selfie Security to Prevent Fraud

September 18th, 2015  |  Canadian Business

MasterCard announced earlier this week that they will trial run facial recognition scanning as a security measure against fraud.

“The new generation, which is into selfies…I think they’ll find it cool. They’ll embrace it,” said Ajay Bhalla, MasterCard’s security innovation expert.

No more easily forgotten passwords and security questions, customers will now be able to hold their phone up, blink once, and send it off to MasterCard for instant approval.

ApplePay led the way with fingerprint scanning for purchase approval, showing that people were willing to use biometrics to prove their identity. Hundreds of thousands of people use the technology to make purchases across the United States and now it's considered more seriously by major credit card companies.

MasterCard is running a small pilot project of 500 people to experiment with both facial and fingerprint scanning for online purchases. They have successfully partnered with all Smartphone producers, including Apple and Microsoft, and are finalizing deals with the last two banks on their list.

While there is no word on who will be eligible to participate in the study, MasterCard believes this will be a big step towards eliminating fraudulent credit card sales made online.

Image Courtesy of Adobe Stock