{"id":338866,"date":"2017-04-20T19:57:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T11:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1479201"},"modified":"2017-04-20T19:57:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T11:57:43","slug":"mastercard-trials-biometric-bankcard-with-embedded-fingerprint-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/mastercard-trials-biometric-bankcard-with-embedded-fingerprint-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastercard trials biometric bankcard with embedded fingerprint reader"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mastercard is trialling<\/a> a Chip and PIN<\/a> bankcard that includes\u00a0an embedded fingerprint reader, introducing\u00a0a\u00a0biometric authentication layer\u00a0for card payments \u2014 and taking a leaf out of the book of\u00a0Apple Pay\u00a0et al in the process. The thinking here being: why pay by entering\u00a0a four-digit PIN when you can stick your thumb on it?<\/p>\n

So far the biometric card has been trialled at two locations in South Africa, with additional trials planned over the next few months in Europe and Asia Pacific, according to a spokeswoman, and a full rollout expected later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are targeting consumer rollout by end of 2017 through issuers that choose to offer biometric cards,\u201d\u00a0she told\u00a0us.<\/p>\n

Mastercard is touting convenience and security as the drivers for embedding a fingerprint sensor in plastic bankcards \u2014 after all, you can\u2019t shoulder-surf a fingerprint as you can a PIN number. Although the use of contactless payment technology in bankcards (a tech that\u2019s widespread in Europe) already offers a faster (and usually PIN-less) way to make card payments.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That said,\u00a0there are some security risks with contactless payments, given there\u2019s usually no authentication performed \u2014 so there\u00a0could be an advantage to combining a contactless bankcard\u00a0with a biometric one that also contains a fingerprint sensor in order to get speedy payments with at least a layer of security. (Although mobile fingerprint sensors\u00a0have been shown to be spoofable<\/a>. So the size of the sensor and the process for capturing a\u00a0user\u2019s print during enrollment are key considerations here.)<\/p>\n

In this instance the Mastercard trial bankcard does not include contactless payment technology \u2014 but\u00a0the spokeswoman told\u00a0us that a future version will include contactless \u201cadding to the simplicity, and convenience at checkout\u201d.<\/p>\n

For now, testers\u00a0are required to insert the card into the POS terminal and then place their finger\/thumb on the reader to authenticate the payment, as pictured above (vs entering a PIN into the keypad in the usual\u00a0way).<\/p>\n

The spokeswoman said\u00a0the card is configured to expect the fingerprint for authenticating a purchase but does still have a PIN as a fall-back. \u201cIf the finger is too greasy or sweaty and the biometric doesn\u2019t go through, the cardholder would experience a small delay and then asked to put in their PIN to complete the transaction,\u201d she added. \u201cThe PIN also allows cardholders to use the card at ATMS globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

One relatively large drawback for the convenience of the biometric card is that the spokeswoman confirmed users are currently required to go to a bank branch in order to register and enroll their fingerprint. (Which is then converted into an encrypted digital template that is stored on the card.) Whereas bankcard users are normally mailed both their card and its PIN through the post so there\u2019s no need to go to a branch to register before being able to use the card.<\/p>\n

When asked about this the spokeswoman said Mastercard is \u201cexploring ways to make remote registration possible\u201d. Although again, while remote registration would be more convenient it could also open up the possibility for vulnerabilities with the implementation of the biometric technology \u2014 depending on how the fingerprint enrollment is performed.<\/p>\n

One thing is clear, global payments giants\u00a0are\u00a0taking plenty of inspiration from mobile tech.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers are increasingly experiencing the convenience and security of biometrics,\u201d said Ajay Bhalla, president, enterprise risk and security, Mastercard, in a supporting statement. \u201cWhether unlocking a smartphone or shopping online, the fingerprint is helping to deliver additional convenience and security. It\u2019s not something that can be taken or replicated and will help our cardholders get on with their lives knowing their payments are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mastercard has also previously trialled facial biometrics for payments \u2014 launching a so-called \u2018selfie pay\u2019 app last October<\/a> which lets people authenticate an online payment by showing\u00a0their face to their phone\u2019s camera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Mastercard is trialling a Chip and PIN bankcard that includes an embedded fingerprint reader, introducing a biometric authentication layer for card payments — and taking a leaf out of the book of Apple Pay et al in the process. The thinking here being: why pay by entering a PIN when you can stick your thumb on it? Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-338866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}