MasterCard Introduces Selfie-Verified Online Payments

While online shopping is easier today than ever before, that convenience comes with a cost: Digital payments are vulnerable to hacker attacks and identity thieves. MasterCard is trying to make online payments faster and more secure by rolling out new technology that will allow users to verify online purchases with a selfie or fingerprint instead of a password or easy-to-guess code.

To use selfie authentication, users will download the special MasterCard app on their smartphones and smile for the camera; the app will scan the photo to ensure it is of the user, and not a thief. The app will also require customers to blink to verify that the photo is new, and not one previously saved on the phone. In addition to facial recognition and fingerprint verification (which also uses the app), MasterCard is exploring ways to use the customer's heartbeat, iris scan, and voice recognition for payments.

MasterCard will launch the new security options for customers in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and throughout Europe over the next few months.

[h/t CNN Money]