Mastercard announced the launch of the Mastercard Biometric Authentication Service, a solution designed to enhance security and provide maximum convenience for consumers.

The payment industry giant’s new service uses biometric data, including fingerprints, iris scanning, and facial recognition. Arrays of this information help to conduct a secure identity verification procedure and guarantee the protection of personal data. The relevant data is contained in the Mastercard press release published concerning the launch of the new service.

Dennis Gamiello, executive vice president responsible for identity products and innovation at the mentioned brand, says that the company is working with partners around the world to replace passwords once and for all and accelerate the transition to simpler and more secure authentication, including biometrics.

The new service complies with Fast Identity Online (FIDO) standards. This means that as part of the new product, Mastercard creates an encrypted key pair stored on personal devices, ensuring that only the user’s unique biometrics can unlock this passkey.

The biometric authentication service launched by the giant of the payment industry will provide customers with the opportunity to log into apps seamlessly and guarantee convenient shopping on online platforms. In this case, there is no need for multiple passwords and authentication codes. Users will be able to select the most preferred biometric data that will be used to pass the checks. The payment giant claims that this solution increases the level of security and at the same time reduces the operating costs of sellers and financial institutions.

It is worth noting that the problem of data protection is becoming more relevant as technology develops. The financial services industry needs reliable security solutions. However, in this case, the level of consumer awareness is also important. A user of payment services is not required to have deep knowledge of the sphere of cybersecurity, but a simple query in the Internet search system, formulated, for example, as how do i know if my phone camera is hacked, will help to form an understanding of the algorithm of actions of criminals aimed at gaining access to personal information and theft of funds stored in mobile wallets.

Mastercard Biometric Authentication Service is designed to replace traditional authentication methods. The developers of the new product emphasize that it is biometrics and FIDO standards that are the basic elements of an alternative mechanism.

The service launched by the giant of the payment industry can also be used with tokenization to protect payment data. Tokenization ensures that information cannot be copied or reused. This is an additional layer of online shopping security.

The widespread adoption of FIDO access keys makes the biometric authentication service available to billions of devices worldwide. Passkey-based security apps can be used for new accounts, in open banking scenarios, and for other purposes.