Biometric program Mastercard will allow payment verification by smile

Mastercard has launched a program to set standards for verifying biometric payments, which promises to allow consumers to pay with a smile.

The biometric payment program of the card giant is a framework for setting standards for technological security and confidentiality for banks, merchants and technology providers developing services for verifying biometric payments.

Mastercard works with technology companies including NEC, Payface, Aurus, PaybyFace, PopID and Fujitsu.

“The way we pay must keep pace with the way we live, work and do business, offering consumers the choice with the highest level of security,” said Ajay Bhala, president, cybernetics and intelligence, at Mastercard. . “Our goal with this new program is to make shopping a great experience for both consumers and retailers, providing the best of security and convenience.”

Businesses participating in the program will be able to offer users biometric payment services through an application. Biometric authentication has been shown to be both an effective and acceptable additional step for payment users.

HSBC said last year that telephone banking fraud had fallen by 50% following the introduction of a biometric security system that verifies customers by voice. About 2.8 million customers registered to use its voice identification system as demand for telephone banking increased during the pandemic. The bank estimates that the extra layer of security has prevented £ 249 million from falling into the hands of criminals in the last year.

in the meantime, Mastercard is quoted study by Idemia which found that 74% of consumers have a positive attitude towards biometric technologies.

Mastercard has launched its first pilot project in Brazil with biometric technology company Payface and the St Marche supermarket chain. Payface technology will be used in five St Marche supermarkets in Sao Paulo. Participating users will register their face and payment information through the Payface app and then just smile to pay at the checkout without a card or mobile device.

Future pilot projects are planned in the Middle East and Asia.

“We are developing Payface from 2018 with a mission to help transform the way people pay – to improve the experience without compromising on security,” said Eladio Isopo, CEO of Payface. “This partnership with Mastercard is a welcome step forward for us and will enable our technology to be used by more merchants and consumers, which will make shopping easier and bring the joy of a payment smile.”

in 2017 Mastercard began using fingerprint technology to make it easier for customers to make payments with their credit and debit cards. Until January 2018 it has set a deadline of April 2019 for the widespread use of biometric identification for users of its service, claiming that all its customers will be able to use biometric data, including fingerprints and facial recognition.