Mastercard Unveils New Credit Card With a Built-In Fingerprint Scanner
Better than a PIN?
Mastercard is really amping up its payment technology, especially with its selfie transactions, which rolled out in Europe last October. This time around, the financial services giant is touting a new credit card with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The card will allow users to make payments with a simple touch instead of entering a PIN or signature. It has the same shape and size of an average card. Not to mention, you can use it with all chip-and-PIN readers with the exception of magnetic stripe-only devices. The biometric card is currently undergoing trials in South Africa with additional trials to be held in Europe as well as Asia in the months to come. A global launch is slated for the end of the year.
Is there a security risk here? Well, Mastercard’s chief of security Ajay Bhalla surely doesn’t think so. In fact, Bhalla confidently claims the card would offer customers “additional convenience and security.” Additionally, security professionals such as Karsten Nohl, who is the head scientist at Berlin’s Security Research Labs, told the BBC that “with the combination of chip and PIN, the PIN is the weaker element. Using a fingerprint gets rid of that.”
Check out Mastercard’s biometric card in action below and then let us know your thoughts.
