Biometric face-scanning to add extra security to card payments

With the potential to reduce credit card fraud, Worldpay is unveiling a chip-and-pin terminal that includes facial recognition technology. The biometric prototype automatically takes a photo of a customer’s face the first time they use it and then references the image to verify their identity during a transaction.

Combining today’s basic chip and pin features with a facial database, the device helps ensure that stolen cards are rendered useless. The PED Cam system (Pin Entry Device Camera) embeds a camera within a card terminal to capture a photo of the payer when they're concentrating on remembering their PIN. The picture is then sent off to a central biometric database managed by Worldpay to be compared with previous snaps.

“Biometrics has attracted a lot of attention, but achieving sufficient scale has always been difficult in a face-to-face environment. It’s partly because of cost, but also because people don’t want the admin hassle of registering their details. With this prototype we would remove that hassle. Card users could be automatically enrolled in the system when they use their card. The design also means retailers would not have to find space for another device on their already busy sales counters,” said Nick Telford-Reed, director of technology at Worldpay.

Because facial recognition technology is not perfect at times, Worldpay is not suggesting that shoppers be blocked from making a transaction if its computer system fails to make a match. Instead, the company will display an “authorization needed” alert, prompter the cashier to ask for a second form of ID.

And with a face scanner like this, privacy concerns will arise. Worldpay stresses that its main goal is to ensure safety and security, not to breach privacy.

“Whenever a company thinks of introducing such invasive technology, they must ensure the highest levels of protection are in place to safeguard people from misuse,” said the organization's research director, Daniel Nesbitt.

Currently, the device is being tested internally at Worldpay, but is expected to be deployed within five years if it spikes retailers’ interests.

Source: BBC