MasterCard Will Soon Accept Payments Through Selfies

To avoid theft through credit card MasterCard is launching a facial recognition pilot program.

Credit card thefts have been on the rise recently. MasterCard has apparently come up with a solution, which will eliminate any possibility of theft if successful. According to reports MasterCard has developed a new facial recognition software program which will allow customers to purchase items by giving facial recognition.

The purchases will be approved online by facial recognition and all the shoppers will require is to buy a webcam, so they can send their current photo id while shopping on the net. For customers on retail outlets, the system will allow customers to hold up their phones and snap a picture of them for facial recognition approval.

The system will be launched this fall but on a pilot scale and if successful, all MasterCard customers will be able to avail the service. According to MasterCard, since the global interest in selfies increasing shoppers will be more open to embracing such a mode of shopping without the hassle of having to carry around cash or credit cards.

The system will program the facial scans and fingerprints of its customers for authentication during shopping in future. The pilot program will start with only 500 customers to test the feasibility of the program and if successful it will be launched all over.

MasterCard already has deals with smartphone makers such as Google and Apple and is also working with numerous banks to be able to make transactions through facial recognition, however it is not clear which bank will support the new form of payment system first.

According to CNN Money, the facial recognition and fingerprint approval system will be useable for purchases by downloading a MasterCard app, which will be responsible for all shopping related transactions.

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Last modified: 13:28 - August 3rd, 2015

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