Mastercard expects to release a credit card with fingerprint scanner this year

Mastercard expects to start using its credit cards with fingerprint scanner this year. The company has conducted trials with a supermarket and bank in South Africa, which have tested the cards.

Mastercard reports that additional trials of the card will take place in the coming months and that “a full rollout is expected later this year.” The trials are taking place in Europe and Asia, among others. According to Mastercard, the cards can be used worldwide and at any emv payment terminal. Existing payment terminals can be used for this, so it is not necessary to purchase new readers.

The card works by storing the cardholder’s fingerprint as an encrypted template on the card. When it’s time to pay with the card, the user can put the card in the reader just like with a regular payment and confirm the payment with his fingerprint, which is read by a built-in sensor on the card itself. As a result, it is not necessary to enter a PIN code. According to Mastercard, the payment method helps to fight fraud.

Although the cards are expected at the end of this year, banks have yet to start using them. As a result, the implementation may take longer, reports Engadget. Mastercard already experimented with the technology in 2014. At the time, the company was still working on prototypes. Mastercard is not disclosing any details about the security of the new cards.