Security for credit and debit cards is serious business.
It's estimated that approximately $190 BILLION is lost every year in credit card fraud, so naturally, companies are taking new and improved measures to counter this.
How are they doing that, you might ask? By making you take a selfie every time you want to make a purchase.
Yes, really.
Biometric security, which is the umbrella term for finger-printing scanning, voice-scanning and so forth, now includes a facial scan via a phone app.
You simply snap a quick picture, the app matches it to the image on file and voila - everything's paid for.
Chief Product Security Officer with MasterCard, Ajay Bhalla, says that the younger generation will be more likely to take this on.
"I think they'll find it cool. I think they'll embrace it."
But, if you're thinking they can just hold up a photo up of you and scan it - guess again.
The technology, which is currently in its testing phase, requires you to blink twice in order for it to be verified. Don't worry, though, MasterCard aren't keeping the images on file.
In conjunction with a fingerprint scan, the information is sent to MasterCard via code and is immediately deleted once the purchase is complete.
It's all a bit strange, but look at it like this - twenty years ago, the idea of using a credit card online would have had you laughed out of the place.
Now we're taking pictures instead of PINs.
Via CNNMoney
