Mastercard Wants To Identify You By Your Walk, Heartbeat And Veins

So, some might ask, what could be wrong with Mastercard utilizing biometric technology that allows payment providers and other companies to identify their customers? Well, for one thing, where will this eventually lead to? Why not stop with just retinal and fingerprint scan technology? Why take it to this level?

Developing secure payment systems that deliver speed and security is a major challenge for banks and credit card providers, as users migrate online for financial services.

Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence solutions for Mastercard, told MarketWatch in an interview: “We are working with transport organizations where your face or gait will authenticate you.

“The way you hold your phone, which ear you use, and how your fingers touch the buttons are all unique to you. We have been testing heartbeat, vein technology, and the way people walk to authenticate people.”

A spokesman said: “We are looking closely at a range of modalities for biometric authentication, including gait analysis, ECG [electrocardiogram] and vein pattern to identify a user.”

www.marketwatch.com...

Normally, when your credit card account gets compromised, you're sent a new card and are told to change your pin number and password. What happens if your biometric information gets stolen from a companies database? There's also the risk of this information being sold to other companies, especially since the buying and selling of consumer data is a multi-billion-dollar industry. I'm sure life and health insurance firms would love to obtain information concerning a person's health.

I know the world is evolving technology wise, but this sounds too invasive to me. IMO, this biometric technology is just the tip of the iceberg. How soon before companies demand a mandatory chip embedded under our skin? They could use it to link a financial/credit account to their customers, or even use it to retrieve their health data. More importantly, they'd be able to track you and know if your health is failing.

Just like a person commented on the MarketWatch article: "Can you say total population control? By easily being able identify everyone, everywhere and at all times of their life? Disguised as making your life simpler, more convenient? Yet the sheep walk right in, Thinking big brother really cares for them." How true.

a reply to: shawmanfromny
And what happens when growth and aging and accidents and illness and medication change some of these details?

a reply to: DISRAELI

Excellent point!

a reply to: shawmanfromny

So does google, it amazes me how amazed you people are sometimes.
Credit is another word for debt, google is another term or word that means, I'm stealing all your security.

Market watch??
Really??

Its more like wearing a monkey watch?

If a monkey was wearing watch...its still a dumb monkey wearing a cheap watch.

originally posted by: DrumsRfun
a reply to: shawmanfromny

So does google, it amazes me how amazed you people are sometimes.
Credit is another word for debt, google is another term or word that means, I'm stealing all your security.

Agree, but the problem is where the credit card goes, so go the debit cards. It's actually impossible now in the USA to avoid holding a debit card. First, most employers will only direct deposit your paychecks, which means you have to deal with either a bank of a credit union. Every bank and credit union I'm aware of goes through either Visa, Mastercard, or Discover to issue a debit card for the account. That's not debt, that's accessing your own earnings... earnings the system has made impossible to even earn without an account to direct deposit them into.

We're hosed where this stuff is concerned. The only way out is to check out of the rat race entirely...

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: shawmanfromny
And what happens when growth and aging and accidents and illness and medication change some of these details?

Then they will adapt. You really think that hasn't been thought of???

a reply to: shawmanfromny

This is much better than last year's rectal scan. Apparently your sphincter image is unique like your fingerprint. Thank God it did not make it through corporate test review!

Mastercard can cram it up, where the sun don't shine.

Anyway, not surprising.

I'm sure it will be mandatory one day but untill that day I'll take a hard pass.

a reply to: shawmanfromny

The lawmakers for this are probably against voter ID.

Irony.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: shawmanfromny
And what happens when growth and aging and accidents and illness and medication change some of these details?

They get to keep all of your money.

originally posted by: shawmanfromny
the way people walk to authenticate people.”

I have a very silly walk ready to combat this nonsense

All the biometrics in the world won't do any good when someone steals your CC number and 3 digit code and uses it to pay for stuff online.

This is going to happen everywhere eventually.

The whole issue is fraud prevention.

a reply to: dfnj2015

There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Asstercard.

originally posted by: LogicalGraphitti
All the biometrics in the world won't do any good when someone steals your CC number and 3 digit code and uses it to pay for stuff online.

Please activate your web cam to complete transaction.

Your card will be activated after 1000 paces.