Mastercard Experimenting Payment by Facial Recognition in Supermarkets
In Brazil, Mastercard is experimenting with payment by facial recognition in supermarkets. This biometric process worries the United States and Europe, which limit or even ban facial recognition in public places. On the other hand, in Russia, it is already in place in the Moscow metro.
For nearly 10 years, banks and specialists in payment and withdrawal systems such as Visa and Mastercard have been studying the possibility of paying by facial recognition. In a statement, Mastercard announces the establishment of a set of compliance standards for banks, merchants and technology providers that ensure that the private data of consumers using this service is properly secured.
The objective for the competitor of Visa, is to validate a payment with a smile in front of a screen or a simple wave of the hand above a reader! This unprecedented biometric payment process has been tested since this week in five supermarkets in São Paulo, Brazil. Future tests are planned for Asia and the Middle East.
What protection for Biometric Data?
“For merchants, the benefits are also considerable, ranging from faster transaction times and shorter queues to greater hygiene and increased security, justifies Mastercard. The payment system can be integrated with loyalty programs and personalized recommendations to help consumers find products that may interest them based on their previous purchases. »
Even if the American giant highlights data security and the simplicity of the system, it will be complicated to extend its use throughout the world. Whether in the United States or Europe, consumer biometric data protection laws are highly regulated. For such a system to work, the merchant or bank must store a consumer’s facial structure or fingerprints. Currently, when you validate a payment via your smartphone with your fingerprint, the image is stored in the device, and not on the server of the merchant site or the bank. Before going to the store, the person registers their face in the Mastercard application. The database is then accessible to partner merchants.
Europe bans facial recognition in public space
For example, US states have enacted laws regulating the use of biometrics, and parliamentarians have also proposed federal legislation banning the use of facial recognition. In Europe, the most recent report published by the European Commission pointed to the fact that “facial recognition technology records characteristics of the human body that a person cannot modify (unlike mobile phone identifiers)”. Moreover, “a large number of images are already available (for example on the internet), and facial images can be taken remotely without a person’s knowledge” with the fear of identity theft .
On the other hand, in Russia, these questions about the protection of personal data and their security arise less since they already use payment by facial recognition in public transport. To do this, users of the Moscow metro register in an application, once and for all, their photo and their bank details. And then, the metro station cameras are responsible for debiting their subscription according to their passages in the turnstile. A system simply unimaginable in Europe since facial recognition is prohibited in public space.
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