MasterCard to add biometric security to online transactions in 2016

MasterCard has unveiled MasterCard Identity Check, a suite of solutions that make use of biometrics and one-time passwords delivered via SMS to secure online mobile transactions. The service will be available to US financial institutions from the middle of 2016, with a global expansion expected to follow in 2017.

Mastercard “Hundreds of cardholders in the Netherlands began using biometric-enabled payments last month, while a similar trial is also underway in the US,” MasterCard says.

“MasterCard Identity Check will put identity verification at the cardholder’s fingertips,” the payment network adds. “The use of technology and data will move from a reliance on what the consumer knows (passwords), to what they have (mobile phone or other smart device) and who they are (biometrics).”

“Today, people shop on all sorts of devices and they expect technology to simplify and secure the transaction,” says Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard. “This is exactly what Identity Check delivers.”

According to a MasterCard survey, 53% of shoppers forget crucial passwords more than once a week and, as a result, more than a third of people abandon an online purchase while six in ten said it led to missing a time-sensitive transaction.

More than half of the 10,000 consumers surveyed across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia Pacific said they want to see passwords replaced by something “more convenient” which continues to deliver the same levels of protection and peace of mind.

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