The same card, with a built-in fingerprint sensor inside, is currently being tested in South Africa and the hope is that it could also launch in the UK in the coming months.

A launch of the biometric cards could take place before new EU directives come into force. According to these, customers must confirm their identity every fifth time they make a contactless purchase. The aim is to prevent fraud. With the fingerprint information, it will be possible to circumvent the directive.

According to the newspaper, Mastercard has said that banks are interested in the technology and that discussions are ongoing.

The credit card giant also plans to release a biometric authentication app that will allow users to approve online payments and transactions with a selfie or fingerprint using their mobile phone.

Source: finwire