MasterCard has announced an alliance with Zwipe to bring out the first contactless payment card with an integrated biometric sensor, which will ask for users' fingerprint as authentication.
MasterCard made it significant by launching this card when Apple Pay, Apple's new cardless payment system drew all the attention to its way.
Similar to Apple's Touch ID feature, this card will archive users fingerprint information on the card itself, instead of storing into any external database. This card also contains an EMV certified secure element and MasterCard's contactless application.
After activation, the card can be used to make contactless payments. The biometric authentication replaces the PIN entry, thus enabling cardholders to make payments of any amount, unlike other contactless payment cards on the market.
According to sources, Zwipe is already working with this system, which will be accepted by all payment terminals across the world and will be released in 2015.
Speaking about the launch, Ajay Bhalla, President of Enterprise Security Solutions at MasterCard commented: "Our belief is that we should be able to identify ourselves without having to use passwords or PIN numbers. Biometric authentication can help us achieve this. However, our challenge is to ensure the technology offers robust security, simplicity of use and convenience for the customer. Zwipe's first trial is a significant milestone and its results are very encouraging."
The fingerprint scanning card will be significant for the masses as Apple Pay is limited to iPhone 6 or 6 plus owners.
Kim Humborstad, founder and CEO of Zwipe, added, "Feedback from our pilot with Sparebanken DIN has been very positive. Cardholders love how easy the card is to use with the added security feature. We have also had exceptionally good feedback from retailers participating in the pilot. This pilot enabled the partners to gather valuable customer feedback, experience and best practice for the enrolment and deployment phase."
