Taking Selfies To Next Level: Mastercard Will Verify Purchases Based on Selfies

By Kamal Nayan - 03 Jul '15 02:46AM

Mastercard will begin using selfies as a means to verify payments, according to reports.

The "innovation" will allow 500 pilot users to take a photo instead of punching in PINs, a move MasterCard chief product security officer Ajay Bhalla says will be popular with youth.

Speaking to CNN, Bhalla said Mastercard partnered with all phone manufacturers to produce the biometric beast.

""The new generation, which is into selfies ... I think they'll find it cool. They'll embrace it," Bhalla says. "This [app] seamlessly integrates biometrics into the overall payment experience.

"You can choose to use your fingerprint or your face - you tap it, the transaction is okayed (sic) and you're done."

Bhalla went on to say that the trial will begin in the US soon with a full scale deployment to follow.

Using the system will be easy: Users will need to hold their mobile phones at eye-level and blink once when instructed for the check-me-out checkout process to complete.

The process would stop obvious attacks where attackers could use a still image of victim to verify fraudulent payments.