Mastercard Launches Biometric Payments Program In Stores To Compete With Amazon; Explores Using Metaverse, AR Headsets For Purchases

Mastercard Inc MA launched a controversial biometric payments program in stores to keep pace with bigger competitors like Amazon.com Inc AMZN, the Financial Times reports.
Facial recognition technology faced flak from civil rights groups about data storage and data sharing.
Mastercard will launch the first pilots this week at five supermarkets run by the St Marche chain in Brazil.
The facial recognition software will come from companies including Japan's NEC, Brazil's Payface, and California-based PopID.
Retailers that sign up for its pilot scheme can allow customers to pay in-store with a smile or a wave.
The system, which mandates customers to enroll, could translate into loyalty programs and purchase history.
Mastercard looks to allow consumers to use a single enrolment to pay across different stores, with further pilots planned across regions including Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Mastercard could act as the "enabler of the ecosystem," setting unified privacy and security standards for a technology that has raised the hackles of privacy and data protection campaigners, Mastercard's cyber and intelligence President said.
Mastercard analyzed using augmented reality headsets for purchases.
Mastercard also aimed to create identities in the "metaverse" using blockchain technologies.
Price Action: MA shares traded higher by 1.77% at $335.57 on the last check Tuesday.
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