Now You Can Pay with a Selfie in the Czech Republic

Tired of passwords? MasterCard has rolled out a new app that allows users to verify an online payment by taking a selfie

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 06.10.2016 11:37:47 (updated on 06.10.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Extra security processes to verify online payments have become standard in many European countries.

In the Czech Republic, depending on your bank, you may be asked to confirm an online payment with an additional password or a code sent to your mobile phone before the transaction goes through.

From Tuesday, a new app from MasterCard might make that process even more secure. And fun (at least, for the vain among us).

MasterCard Identity Check, or “selfie pay”, uses facial recognition software and your phone’s camera to ensure that it’s really you that has made an online payment.

The new app, which was tested in a pilot program in the US and Canada last year, has been officially launched in 12 European markets before being rolled across the globe in 2017, writes TechCrunch

Those markets include the Czech Republic along with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Along with selfies, the new MasterCard app also supports biometric data that would allow users to confirm a payment with a fingerprint.

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