You can now pay for an item you've bought without cash, card or even your phone. MasterCard is currently testing a technology that will only require you to just show your face at checkout. This new Biometric Checkout Program will allow any shopper to scan their face at checkout using the shop owner's phone or installed system, and in the same way that your phone unlocks, will also allow payments to go through.
The pilot program will begin in Brazil, in the city of Sao Paulo. The stores in the city will use an app developed by a Brazilian startup called Payface. According to Bloomberg Nili Klenoff, a senior vice president at MasterCard said that more features that can use this technology are in the works. She added that age verification for purchasing restricted store items “is one actually that we're beginning to explore and one that we're really excited about.”
The rise of facial recognition is payment systems is seen as a natural progression to eliminate cash and reduce fraud. There have been considerable advancement in payment technologies, with a company last month offering to embed a chip in your hand that you could use to pay by swiping your hand over a receiver.
The company called Walletmor uses Near-Field Communication or NFC, the technology being used by smartphones for years.
Walletmor's chip weighs less than a gram and is little bigger than a grain of rice. It is comprised of a tiny microchip and an antenna encased in a biopolymer - a naturally sourced material, similar to plastic.
The company's CEO said the chip is perfectly safe and has all the regulatory approvals.
