Mastercard adds biometric tech to bank cards

Mastercard has announced a new bank card that allows users to authenticate payments by scanning their fingerprint.

The biometric card can be used on all existing chip and PIN machines, so businesses won't need to install any new hardware or software to take payments.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Mastercard has already introduced the biometric system in South Africa "following successful trials with a local bank and retailer".

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The new card will hopefully "lead to quicker and safer transactions" when the technology is rolled out globally later this year, adds the newspaper. A contactless version could also enter circulation, although transactions may retain the current £30 limit.

As the technology provides "added security" compared to the traditional four-digital PIN, "adding biometrics to payment cards makes sense", says Alphr.

However, Karsten Nohl, chief scientist at the Security Research Labs, told the BBC, that a fingerprint can be replicated simply using a glass someone has recently touched.

If the data is stolen, "you only have nine fingerprint changes before you run out of options," he said.

Nevertheless, Nohl added "the PIN is the weaker element" in existing bank cards, so a fingerprint scanner would be "better than what we have at the moment".

Mastercard will continue to trial its biometric bank card "in the coming months", but it has yet to outline an official release date or how people will be able to get one.