MasterCard has started testing a new program which will authenticate online purchases using a facial or fingerprint scan. There is no need to buy any additional hardware, the technology will utilize the users smartphone equipped with the front-camera or integrated finger-print scanner to approve the payment.

The new biometric security feature will create a digitized map of the scanned biometric data, convert that data into a hash and compare it to the hash stored on Mastercard's servers for verification at the the time of transaction for validation. Users will be able to pay through a mobile app with either their fingerprints or by blinking into the device camera, the blink is used to prevent someone from just holding up a picture of the user to spoof the system.