MasterCard is planning to launch new mobile technologies that will allow customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints. The move is meant to enable the company ditch the traditional authentication methods.
In the next few months, the innovation will be used in different countries including; US, European countries and Canada. People across the world will be allowed to use the authentication technology within five years, said Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard.
The selfie technique is very important and it should be adapted by other companies that require authentication like banks. The introduced system is safer than passwords because people normally come up with easily cracked codes and passwords that can be hacked.
The app
Customers who wish to use selfie authentication will have to download a special MasterCard app that will allow them to take a photo each time they make an online purchase. Their face will be scanned to prove that they are not hackers or thieves trying to make a purchase. Afterwards, the scan will verify that it’s a legitimate selfie, instead of a previously taken photo — by requiring users to blink when they take their own photo.
The innovation can only be used by the smartphones in the market, so if you a feature phone or an old Nokia phone, you won’t be use your selfie to authenticate payments. The fingerprint authentication can be used by iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and other top tier smartphones.
MasterCard provided that it’s also working on other ways to authenticate purchases, including monitoring a customer’s heartbeat, Iris scans and voice recognition are also being explored.
Tech companies are not establishing ways of enhancing device security by protecting from hackers. Laptops and smartphone companies have fingerprint scanners that offer optimal protection; a good example is the HP.
In addition, the latest iPhones have fingerprint login technology which allows users to access their accounts on their mobile phones using fingerprints
