Facial recognition software is expected to be ready by the end of the year to link your MasterCard account to the image of your face — so all you have to do at the register is snap a photo of your face and off you go.
The technology, which the credit card company announced on Thursday, is more secure than the passwords now used to prove one’s ID — and you won’t ever forget your face at home when you go shopping.
The biometric system, called ID Check, created by MasterCard in partnership with Google, Apple and Samsung, will digitize your face into a series of zeroes and ones, convert that image into a hash and compare it to the hash stored on MasterCard’s servers, the company said.
Users will employ an app on their smartphones. The app will utilize a fingerprint or the facial biometrics — activated by staring into the smartphone and blinking once. The blink is used to prevent someone from simply holding up a picture of you to spoof the system.
For those who don’t want images of their face circulating around MasterCard’s servers, don’t worry, the company said.
The credit card company won’t be able to re-create your face from the data on their servers, ensuring you keep the image of your face to yourself, Ajay Bhalla, MasterCard’s president for enterprise safety and security, told CNN Money, which first reported on the MasterCard tech move.
People who are into selfies — and who isn’t these days? — may opt for ID Check instead of a password, Bhalla predicts.
MasterCard hopes to begin a test with 500 cardholders soon, with plans to take it worldwide next year.
ID Check can be used for either online purchases or those made in brick-and-mortar stores.
The company said Thursday that it is close to inking deals with two major still-unidentified banks.