MasterCard, BMO Begin Rollout of Identity Check

MasterCard is starting to roll out its Identity Check – or ‘Selfie Pay’ – authentication platform in Canada and the US.

The initial phase of the launch is taking place in collaboration with BMO Financial Group, which will begin to issue employees corporate cards compatible with the Identity Check mobile app. When these cardholders wish to make transactions online, they’ll be able to use the app to authenticate via facial recognition using their smartphones’ cameras, or via fingerprint scan, if their devices support such technology.

MasterCard’s solution turned some heads at this year’s Mobile World Congress as an important component of the rising wave of biometric authentication technologies being adopted by the financial community. Commenting on the pilot launch in a statement, BMO VP Steve Pedersen explained that “[t]he use of biometric technology has become more common for consumers looking for convenient and secure ways to make purchases using their smartphones, so this was the natural next step for us as innovators in the payment security space.”

Assuming the initial rollout proceeds smoothly, the companies plan to make Identity Check available to a broader base of consumers starting this summer.

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March 24, 2016 – by Alex Perala