Samsung has revealed that it is working with Mastercard on a biometric scanning payment card with a built-in fingerprint reader. The system appears to be similar to Mastercard’s biometric payment cards, which were first introduced in 2017 and allow you to make transactions without ever touching a keypad. Rather than using Mastercard’s current technology, Samsung said the cards “will follow a new security chipset from Samsung’s System LSI Business that incorporates multiple main discrete chips.”
Since your fingerprint is scanned directly from your own card rather than an external point-of-sale (POS) system, the aim is to improve security while reducing physical contact points. The wallet, on the other hand, is Mastercard-compatible, as it can be used at any Mastercard chip or POS terminal.
Although the card will use Mastercard for clearing and point-of-sale, Samsung Card, which is owned by Samsung Life Insurance and is South Korea’s largest credit card company, will back it financially, according to Wikipedia. The card will be available in South Korea later this year, but Samsung has not confirmed if it will be available in other regions.
