Do you shop online?  Just about everyone I know has purchased something online. I sometimes worry about the security.  Identity theft is a big problem.  I was watching the news the other night and there was a segment about a new feature of using ‘selfies’ to pay online.  I thought the idea was quite interesting.

MasterCard to Launch ‘Selfie-Pay’

This summer, MasterCard plans to begin rolling out a new application featuring technology that will allow users to make purchases online with nothing more than a selfie.

Using facial recognition software, the new MasterCard app will feature a brand new way of verifying online payments. Each time a user makes an online purchase, their face will be scanned to prove that they, not card thieves or hackers, are indeed making the purchase.

The software scans the user’s eyes, nose, and mouth, then asks for one blink to confirm that the person is not utilizing a previously taken photo. After the quick scan, the transaction will officially be verified with one simple click.

No More Forgotten Passwords

“You’re not going to forget a face like you forget a password, and it’s easy to do,” said Alan Brill of Kroll Cyber Security. “It’s very hard to counterfeit your face or your fingerprint,” Brill added.

Ajay Bhalla, MasterCard’s President of Enterprise Safety and Security, believes that today’s average online shopper “keeps very dumb passwords,” and says that “using facial and fingerprint scans for purchases is safer.”

Expect MasterCard to release the new app mid-summer, before going global in early 2017.   Take a minute and watch the video.  Let me know what you think of the ‘Selfie-pay’ idea.