Mastercard trials 'selfie' verification system for smartphone purchases

MasterCard is trialing a smartphone app which verifies online purchases with facial recognition, namely with a selfie.

Users will hold their phone's camera to their faces and blink to prove that they are not just a photograph or cloned account., although this has been foiled in the past.

"People took photographs and animated them, drawing eyelids on," said Ken Munro security researcher at Pen Test Partners.
"There have been advances in bio-metrics since then, but they're not quite there yet."

The software has been put forward as an alternative to SecureCode, although it is generally agreed that it is not as safe as traditional passwords.

Over 500 users were involved in the trial in the US. Next, MasterCard will begin tests for fingerprint and voice recognition to approve purchases.