MasterCard unveils new fingerprint-scanning credit card

MasterCard is introducing a credit card that comes with a fingerprint scanner to make paying for items at stores more secure. MasterCard’s contactless payment option is hardly new, allowing users to tap a card at checkout (and bypass the PIN code process). But MasterCard is now teaming up with biometric tech company Zwipe to prevent people from paying for items this way with stolen credit cards. It’s a way to prove that it’s actually you using the card.

Apple isn’t the only company using biometrics to authenticate payments and purchases – Apple Pay partner MasterCard wants to make fingerprint scanning something even people without an iOS device can use to digitally ‘sign’ for contactless transactions. The credit card company is launching the “world’s first” fingerprint-enabled credit card with technology partner Zwipe, which will have the exact same dimensions as existing plastic payment cards, but with an embedded fingerprint scanner. Like Apple’s Touch ID, the card stores any fingerprint data records only on the card itself, rather than transmitting them to the cloud or MasterCard’s servers, which makes it far less likely that the information can be intercepted and stolen. Activation occurs via a simple initial scan setup process, and after that, the chip-based cards use a successful scan match to complete payments, instead of the usual manual entry PIN.