New MasterCard Will Come With Fingerprint Scanner

Collaboration between credit card and biometric companies to launch in the U.K.

October 22, 2014

NEW YORK – MasterCard is introducing a credit card that comes with a fingerprint scanner, in order to make paying in-store payments more secure, according to various news sources.

The company’s existing contactless payment option allows users to tap a card at checkout (and bypass the PIN code process), and they are now teaming up with biometric tech company Zwipe to prevent people from paying for items this way with stolen credit cards. The fingerprint security technology is a way to prove that it's actually you using the card.

The Zwipe MasterCard, which might be offered only in the U.K. for now, comes with a built-in fingerprint scanner that stores the registered user’s thumbprint. When you put your thumb on the scanner, the embedded chip unlocks and the user can tap the card to make purchases.

The companies say it's the first card to combine contactless payment with biometric authentication, a logical step for credit card companies who are always trying to find ways to simplify the payment process and make it safer for users along the way.

According to Mashable.com, it's unknown if the Zwipe MasterCard will come to the U.S. anytime soon, but it's a smart feature that many consumers would likely want to try.

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