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With a stated objective of “making MasterCard the safest way to pay,” the credit card company recently announced it would be testing a new fingerprint-identification system that it hoped would eventually be used worldwide in the fight against fraud.
While Chemical Bank is betting on a voice-verification system, the system chosen by MasterCard will use the card holder’s fingerprint as a security check. With this system, manufactured by Identicator Technology, the card holder’s fingerprint will be scanned and a numerical code will be assigned to the print. A computer chip containing the code is then embedded into a credit card.
When the customer wants to use the card, he first must touch his finger to a screen which then matches the fingerprint to the coded print on the card. If the two fingerprints don’t match, the purchase is denied.
Some consultants are expressing reservations about the system. It could be difficult to make such a system both cost effective and reliable they say. If the system is not able to reject the fraud artist while allowing legitimate customers access, it will not be a success.
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