MasterCard Biometric Contactless Payment Card

the traditional way of signing to authenticate a credit card purchase at store front can be a hassle and not necessary the most secure way. understanding this, over the years payment companies have been trying to make things a little simpler. with Apple Pay announced last month, the Cupertino tech giant is the latest to join the effort to make payment a less painful affair. and now, MasterCard and Zwipe, a biometric technology outfit, has announced the launch of the world’s biometric contactless payment card. essentially, the same credit card you know and can’t live without, the charge card features an integrated fingerprint sensor and Near Field Communication technology that enables you to make payment faster without compromising on security.

MasterCard Biometric Contactless Payment Card

the built-in biometric sensor with Zwipe secure biometrics authentication technology works alongside with an EMV certified secure element and MasterCard’s contactless application to ensure secure and fast payments at brick-and-mortar stores. fingerprint data is stored on the card, as opposed to external database which eliminate the risk of data being hacked and stolen. the fact that it will need your fingerprint to make payment and no such data is on any external database, makes it a highly secured option, or at least in theory, it is. the fingerprint sensor basically replaces the traditional signature-based or PIN authentication. the fingerprint sensor is powered by the energy it harvest from the payment terminals, so it can operate without an onboard battery.

NOW READ  Wilson 3D Printed Airless Gen1 Basketball: Look Ma, No Air!

to make payment, all you have to do is to put your thumb on the sensor and wave over the compatible terminal and voila, payment made. MasterCard Biometric Contactless Payment Card was made official following a successful live pilot with Norway’s Sparebanken DIN, which have received favorable feedbacks. all there is left to do is to incorporate the technology into the standard card that is designed to work with all payment terminals for release in 2015.

MasterCard Biometric Contactless Payment Card
Prototype of Zwipe MasterCard

Zwipe via Digital Spy