Mastercard is collaborating with NEC Corporation to enhance the use of facial recognition technology for in-store payments in the Asia Pacific region.
The two companies have established a memorandum of understanding that will integrate NEC’s facial recognition and liveness verification technology with Mastercard’s payment processing and user experience solutions. This partnership is a continuation of Mastercard’s Biometric Checkout Program, which began with a pilot in Brazil last year.
The program aims to provide merchants, banks, and technology firms with a technological framework that sets minimum standards for security, biometric performance, data protection, and privacy requirements.
Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence solutions at Mastercard, stated, “As retailing environments continue to evolve and choices in ways to pay rapidly expand, biometric solutions offer a seamless, quick, and secure checkout, eliminating the need to unlock a phone or enter a PIN.”
He added, “This partnership with NEC will enable us to introduce innovative biometric payment options to customers across Asia Pacific, positioning us as leaders in delivering safe and convenient checkout experiences.”