Mastercard pilots pay with a wave or smile

Mastercard is trialling new technology, which would allow shoppers to make payments by smiling or a wave of the hand.

The payments giant has launched the Biometric Checkout Program, a set of standards for banks, merchants and tech providers to stick to when payments are made by biometrics.

The new programme means that instead of swiping a card, shoppers can show their face or the palm of their hand to make payments.

The hope is it will speed up the shopping experience as well as offer more security than a bank card.

Mastercard also claimed that for merchants biometrics was a more hygienic payment method than credit and bank cards.

Mastercard pointed to research showing 74 per cent of consumers have a positive attitude towards biometric technology, and the market for contactless biometrics technology is projected to reach $18.6 billion by 2026.

The first pilot is being launched this week in Brazil with future pilots planned for rollout in the Middle East and Asia.

Mastercard is working with partners including NEC, Payface, Aurus, PaybyFace, PopID and Fujitsu Limited on its planned rollout.

“The way we pay needs to keep pace with the way we live, work and do business, offering choice to consumers with the highest levels of security,” said Ajay Bhalla, president, Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard. 

“Our goal with this new program is to make shopping a great experience for consumers and merchants alike, providing the best of both security and convenience.”

But there are likely to be concerns about the programme as facial recognition technology has been criticised by civil rights groups arguing it breaches privacy rights while there is likely to be concerns about how data is collected.