Fingerprint payment card unveiled

People will be able to make card payments using their fingerprint instead of their pin number under a new initiative.

MasterCard has partnered up with Zwipe to unveil the 'world's first' contactless payment card featuring an integrated fingerprint sensor


MasterCard has partnered up with Norwegian firm Zwipe to unveil what they describe as the 'world's first' contactless payment card featuring an integrated fingerprint sensor.


People will be able to pay by swiping the card on a reader and verifying their identity by placing their finger on the card, which will have fingerprint data stored within it rather than on an external database.


Those behind the initiative said that because the fingerprint authentication will act as an extra level of security when making a card payment in the same way that someone entering their Pin number does, people will potentially be able to make higher value payments than they would when they are paying by simply swiping a contactless card.


At present, when someone pays by swiping their contactless card on a reader and not entering their Pin, this method can only be used to make a small payment of up to £20 in the UK.


The fingerprint technology cards will be designed to work with payment terminals on a widespread basis and they will have a similar appearance to existing cards. People will also be able to use Chip and Pin on the cards as a back-up if they need to.


The technology is already being trialled in Norway and Poland and it will be made available to the banks that MasterCard works with next year as the card issuers.


Kim Humborstad, founder and chief executive of Zwipe, said there had been a 'positive' response to the piloting of the card, which people have found easy to use.


Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard, added: 'Our belief is that we should be able to identify ourselves without having to use passwords or Pin numbers.


'Biometric authentication can help us achieve this. However, our challenge is to ensure the technology offers robust security, simplicity of use and convenience for the customer. Zwipe's first trial is a significant milestone and its results are very encouraging.'


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5 Reasons iPhone 6 Won't Be Popular

Eset nod32 ativirus 6 free usernames and passwords

Apple's self