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Here’s one of those terrifying visions of the future that probably no one will bat an eyelid at in a few years time. Consumers’ faces could soon be used in shops to help verify their payments.
The possibility is being researched by Worldpay, a company which helps nearly half of the UK’s high street businesses to process card payments. The idea behind it is to combat card fraud in stores.
As far as hardware is concerned, the plan requires tiny upward-facing cameras embedded into card readers that would take an image of a shopper’s face as they enter their card number.
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Card users would automatically be opted into the new facial recognition technology rather than registering for it.
Addressing potential privacy concerns, a spokesman for Worldpay said the move would not mean that photos of people are stored in its system. Instead, the images would generate “unique biometric templates”, so that consumers’ faces are mapped out.
A unique biometric template, linked to a particular person’s card, would be stored in a secure, central database managed by Worldpay.
Researchers stressed that the design is still in “concept phase”, with controlled trials currently taking place.
They are also exploring the potential of using the biometric profile captured by the device as a way of verifying card users’ identities online as well as in-store.
Firms are increasingly exploring ways in which the human body can be used to help make payments more secure.
In March, Halifax confirmed it was investigating the possibility of customers being able to wear wristbands containing sensors which would be able to pick up their heartbeat and use this as a way of logging in to their mobile phone banking rather than having to enter a password.
Meanwhile, payments made through Apple Pay are confirmed using Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
