Shopping Via Selfie May Be On Its Way

Here’s some great news for shopaholics and people who get annoyed when they’re buying something online and their wallet is on the other side of the room. MasterCard will start testing a new feature where you could make purchases through a facial scan.

When shopping online, you’ll be prompted to snap a photo of yourself at the checkout to complete the purchase. MasterCard believes it will be much easier than remembering a password, reports CNN Money. So if you’ve ever been frustrated at a forgotten password, and in that split-second, prevented yourself from buying something unnecessary, this new technology might put an end to that. MasterCard also believes this is a way to help decrease fraud, but you know this is just a smart way to get us to shop more. Is this going to be like shopping on Ambien?

The feature, which will be initially tested in a group of 500 customers, will also allow the use of a fingerprint to make purchases. After downloading the MasterCard app, a pop-up will ask for your preferred method of authorization: fingerprint or photo. If you go with the photo, all you’ll need to do is look at your phone and blink one time. The credit company doesn’t actually receive your selfie though. From CNN Money:

MasterCard said it doesn’t actually get a picture of your finger or face. All fingerprint scans will create a code that stays on the device. The facial recognition scan will map out your face, convert it to 1s and 0s and transmit that over the Internet to MasterCard.

You know what that means: you can be totally nude when you approve that Amazon Prime purchase. Ajay Bhall, who is in charge of safety and security at MasterCard said, “The new generation, which is into selfies … I think they’ll find it cool. They’ll embrace it.” The future is getting so weird. MasterCard’s selfie program will start testing this fall.