Selfies Can Now Foil Financial Fraud

For those of us that wish our selfies held monetary value — unless you’re Kim Kardashian or have had your likeness stolen by Richard Prince, they don’t — our dreams are about to come true, the Washington Post reports. MasterCard Identity Check, which you will call “selfie pay,” will employ biometric methods like fingerprint scan and facial recognition to help secure online transactions. MasterCard currently uses an optional password-based authentication system for online purchases, but this method would be both more secure and way, way cooler. Passwords are hackable through brute-force bots, to say nothing of accidentally revealing them. Fingerprints are somewhat harder to replicate. Here’s how it works: You complete an online purchase as normal. Instead of immediately buying the item, though, a push notification is sent to your smartphone to verify identity. Then you either scan your fingerprint or take a short video selfie. The feature will come out of beta testing and into broader use this summer. Expect delays at checkout lines as people make sure their verification videos are extra cute.