Take a selfie to bank: MasterCard testing facial recognition smartphone app

From Al Arabia News –

“MasterCard is testing a security app that uses facial scans and recognition technology to approve payment for purchases made with a smartphone.

In the trial, the U.S. multinational financial services giant will have users hold their phone up as though taking a selfie to approve transactions.

In an interview with CNN Money, MasterCard's president of enterprise security solutions, Ajay Bhall, said “the new generation, which is into selfies ... I think they'll find it cool. They'll embrace it."

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Say Cheese to the Next Generation of Mobile Payments

From TechWeek Europe –

“Mobile payments could be about to get a lot more personal under a new facial recognition initiative announced today.

Chinese ecommerce titan Alibaba has launched Smile to Pay, which scans users’ faces via their smartphones in order to verify mobile payments.

Alibaba CEO Jack Ma showed off the technology at the CeBIT event in Hannover, however Smile to Pay, currently being developed by Alibaba’s finance arm, Ant Financial, may not see the light of day until 2017

“You forget your password, you worry about the securities … today we show you a new technology in the future how people can buy things online,” he said.”

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