Mastercard announced it has been testing a payment card that leverages biometric technology for extra transaction security, in combination with existing EMV chip technology, according to a company press release.
The technology involved allows a fingerprint to be stored on an EMV card. Merchants would be able to use existing EMV card terminal infrastructure to accept payments on such cards. The company recently conducted two separate trials of biometric cards in South Africa with Pick n Pay, a leading supermarket retailer, and with Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays Africa.
