Millennials rejoice!By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Millennials rejoice! MasterCard announced Thursday that users will soon be able to pay for transactions by taking a selfie.
According to Engadget, the biometric system will create a digitized map of your face, convert that map into a code and compare it to the code stored on MasterCard’s servers.
Users will be able to pay through a mobile app with either their fingerprints or by staring into the device and blinking once. The blink prevents thieves from showing the app a picture of your face in an attempt to fool it, reported CNet.
“They’re storing an algorithm, not a picture of you,” Phillip Dunkelberger, who runs Nok Nok Labs, told CNN Money. “And I’m sure they’re doing the appropriate stuff to guard it.”
MasterCard has yet to officially announce when the program will be available; thus far it has only been teased by MasterCard’s President of Enterprise Security and Safety Ajay Bhalla during an interview with CNNMoney, in which he discussed alternatives to passwords for “the selfie generation.”
“The new generation, which is into selfies … I think they’ll find it cool,” Bhalla said.
The company is also playing with voice and heartbeat recognition to make the secure payment process even more seamless, according to Quartz.
The company reportedly already has deals in place with Google, Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft, with hopes to begin a limited 500-person pilot program later this fall to work out the kinks. According to Engadget’s sources, it could then be available to the public as early as next year.
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