MasterCard Tests
Credit Cards with Embedded Fingerprint Reader
by Jack Hadfield 21 Apr 2017
MasterCard is currently testing a credit
card with a fingerprint scanner embedded within it, creating an
extra layer of biometric authentication to keep the accounts of their customers
as safe as possible.
Convenience and security are the two key benefits of the
new system that MasterCard have highlighted. While contactless payment
technology offers speed, no authentication is usually needed. PIN numbers are more
secure, but they take a greater amount of time, can be forgotten, and can
easily be seen if the keypad is not obscured from prying eyes. The fingerprint
system provides the best of both worlds at least in MasterCard’s opinion.
Previous iterations of biometric cards required a
separate fingerprint scanner, limiting their usefulness, as the special
equipment needed to be provided by the store, which only a small minority did.
This new generation of cards only needs to be inserted into the standard terminal,
with the fingerprint authentication bypassing the need to enter a PIN number. A
MasterCard spokesperson did say that “If the finger is too greasy or sweaty and
the biometric doesn’t go through, the cardholder would experience a small delay
and then asked to put in their PIN to complete the transaction,” which is a
small price to pay for the benefits. Contactless payment technology will be
implemented in future versions “adding to the simplicity and convenience at the
checkout.”
However, to enroll their fingerprint on the system,
customers must visit their bank and register their prints there. Usually,
bankcard users are mailed their card, not requiring the extra journey to visit
their local branch. MasterCard is “exploring ways to make remote registration
possible” at this moment in time, but remote registration may open
vulnerabilities in the security system. Karsten Nohl, chief scientist at
Berlin’s Security Research Labs, also raised concerns about how secure the
system may be. “All I need is a glass or something you have touched in the
past,” he told the
BBC. If the information is stolen, “you only have nine fingerprint
changes before you run out of options.”
Nohl was however cautiously optimistic despite this,
saying that it is “better than what we have the moment”:
With the combination of chip and PIN, the PIN is the
weaker element. Using a fingerprint gets rid of that… Fingerprints have helped
us avoid using terrible passwords, and even the most gullible person is not
going to cut off their finger if [a criminal] asks nicely.
This is not the first time MasterCard has experimented
with biometrics to increase security and ease for their customers. Last year,
they launched MasterCard Identity Check, colloquially known as “selfie pay,” where
users would be able to authenticate online transactions by snapping a quick
photo of themselves using the camera on their phone or tablet. Given that the fingerprint verification
can only be used in store, customers could use the two systems in tandem for
their different shopping needs.
Full consumer rollout is expected at the end of this year,
after two successful trials in South Africa; further trials in Europe and East
Asia are likely to occur as well, to fully check the functionality of the
system.
MasterCard
MasterCard
Incorporated was a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Note: Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, the founder of the Soros Fund Management, Mark
Schwartz was his senior adviser, and was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Mark Schwartz was
the president & CEO for the Soros
Fund Management, George Soros’s
senior adviser, and a director at MasterCard
Incorporated.
Julius
Genachowski is a director at MasterCard
Incorporated, and a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Jane Lakes Harman
is a trustee at the Aspen Institute
(think tank), and a trustee at the University
of Southern California.
Ming
Hsieh is a trustee at the University
of Southern California, and was the chairman & president & CEO for Cogent, Inc.
3M to Acquire Cogent Inc. 3M to Acquire Cogent Inc.
Monday, August 30, 2010 6:30
am CDT Monday, August 30, 2010 6:30 am CDT
ST. PAUL, Minn. &
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M (NYSE:MMM), and Cogent Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT)
announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for 3M’s
acquisition of Cogent Inc. for $10.50 per share. The proposed transaction has
an aggregate value of approximately $943 million, or approximately $430 million
net of cash acquired. Cogent Inc., commonly referred to as Cogent Systems,
provides finger, palm, face and iris biometric systems for governments, law
enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises.ST. PAUL, Minn. & PASADENA,
Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M (NYSE:MMM), and Cogent Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT) announced
today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for 3M’s acquisition
of Cogent Inc. for $10.50 per share. The proposed transaction has an aggregate
value of approximately $943 million, or approximately $430 million net of cash
acquired. Cogent Inc., commonly referred to as Cogent Systems, provides finger, palm, face and iris
biometric systems for governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial
enterprises.
3M
Co. acquired Cogent, Inc.
Muhtar Kent is a
director at 3M Co., and a director
at FIRST.
Steve Sanghi is a
director at FIRST, and the chairman & CEO for Microchip Technology Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment