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In the fight against credit card fraud, Mastercard announced it is unveiling it’s latest procedures against fraud which include taking a selfie and/or taking a fingerprint with your mobile device.

At Mobile World in Barcelona last week, Mastercard explained that users will be able to take a picture of their face or scan their fingerprint in order to verify their identity if they choose to make purchases online.

Cardholders would have to download the company’s app onto their mobile device or tablet. Credit Card info will still be obligatory to enter online but if Mastercard asks for further evidence of one’s identity, users can hold their phone up to their face or have their device scan their fingerprint using the app’s fingerprint sensor.

To prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of this, users will have to blink while using the camera to prove they’re not holding up a photograph to the camera. The company claims it has further methods to tell if someone is also holding up a video to the camera lens as well.

This new security is planned to be unveiled in the upcoming months including here in the US, The UK, Canada and parts of Europe.

When tested on a group of users, 92% of them responded saying that they preferred this new security feature versus passwords.

In addition to fingerprint and facial recognition to detect one’s identity, Mastercard is considering using sensors to read a person’s electrocardiogram, aka the unique electric signal produced by one’s heart. Users could also wear a bracelet which measures this and sends a signal to your device to prove that you’re you.

Mastercard is not the first company to step up it’s security game with banking. Other companies like Alibaba and HSBC also announced a selfie feature when making payments as well as fingerprint scans and voice recognition as well.

Experts have warned that although these methods are better than what we currently have at the moment, facial recognition and fingerprint scanning are not foolproof with privacy also being raised as a concern.

Source: HuffPost