Mastercard : Replacing Passwords With Selfies
v Mastercard announced the move at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona.
v It said the rollout this summer would involve the UK, US, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
v It explained that members of the public would have to download an application to their PC, tablet or smartphone to use the system.
What Is Selfie Authentication
v This technology, would allow customers to take selfies to authenticate their identity when engaged in mobile shopping.
v This would allow you to complete your purchases without PIN codes, passwords or confirmation codes.
v Mastercard is betting that the selfie can be both smooth and secure.
v It will give users the option to take a selfie or simply scan their finger to process payments.
How It Works
• To use selfie pay, customers will have to download MasterCard's app to their phone or tablet.
• Enter your credit card information as normal during an online payment.
• Hold your device up to your face to take a quick picture.
• You will have to BLINK to prove that you're not holding a photograph in front of the camera.
• To make a transaction, click a high-quality photo, means a picture with high resolution, good lighting, and static environment.
Key Points
Ø Photo is taken instantly . Ø No need to wait for an SMS confirmation and
enter the code. Ø No need to remember passwords and/or
always have on you tokens that can break or be lost at the most inopportune moment.
Ø Facial and fingerprint scans for purchases is
safer than typed passwords since many customers foolishly use easy-to-guess codes.
Disadvantages
Ø To make a transaction, a high-quality photo is required, which means that one has to have a good camera with high resolution, good lighting, and static environment;
Ø There is a possibility of difficulties encountered during the authentication procedure if there are significant visible changes in or damage to a customer’s face that occurred after their registration in the system;
Ø If an intruder intercepted a customer’s login and password and has access to any of their photos (e.g. from a social network), And the user will not even be aware of all this happening.
Security At It’s Peak
§ Mastercard’s selfie authentication takes security to the next level and is especially handy for people using phones without fingerprint scanners.
§ Mastercard is reportedly working on using heartbeat scans, iris scans, and voice authentication in lieu of traditional passwords as well.
§ The scan will verify that it's a legitimate selfie -- instead of a previously taken photo by requiring users to blink when they take their own photo.
Sale Boost
Ø The system would lead to increased online sales as passwords are replaced with a more convenient solution.
Ø According to a survey by MasterCard, 53 percent of shoppers forget passwords at least once a week, wasting more than 10 minutes to reset their accounts and leading to a third of shoppers abandoning their purchase.
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