Originally published by Bernard Marr on LinkedIn: Will You Soon Pay With a Selfie?
As credit card users in the U.S. are still getting used to chip-security enhanced credit cards, which Europe has been using for a while, a new wave of biometric security is sweeping the payment processing world.
MasterCard recently announced that it is experimenting with a new mobile app that allows users to take a selfie or use a fingerprint to authenticate a payment, instead of using a password or pin number.
Previously, online retailers could use both MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa programs to authenticate users, both of which are based on the 3D Secure protocol developed by Visa to reduce fraudulent transactions online.
But the programs were unpopular with users, because they required creating and entering a complicated password, and it was difficult to tell if the popups were real or fraudulent themselves.
Enter the selfie.
MasterCard and Visa's new “invisible” authentication system, called 3D Secure 2.0, allows users to use an image of their face, a fingerprint, or a single-use password in the event additional authentication is needed during a purchase.
Credit card companies are even testing voice identification and a wristband that identifies you by your unique cardiac rhythm!
Biometrics driven by big data
The algorithms that power these biometric security selfies are similar to the ones you encounter when Facebook or Google recognizes a photo of you. Using deep learning algorithms, the computer compares your selfie to an existing data set (photos of you) and decides whether or not there is a match.
When your face is your your unique “code” then your PIN or password follows you everywhere and is difficult to duplicate or hack. This kind of face recognition is already being used in all sorts of applications, including phones that can be unlocked with a wink, and apartment buildings in New York City that allow residents to enter without a key.
Plus, if you’ve watched any police dramas in the past couple of years, you’ll be aware that face recognition software is being used by police departments to compare surveillance videos of crime suspects to their own database of mug shots, the same way they use fingerprints. Some casinos use the same technology to identify big spenders for special treatment (and suspected card-counters for ejection).
As with so many sectors of our technological society, these advances also come with privacy questions and risks. What happens when the credit card company is compromised and hackers steal your faceprint or fingerprint? Studies have shown that facial recognition software can be used to link people to their social media accounts and even, in some cases, their Social Security numbers.