Mumbai, Nov 28 – In a strategic collaboration, Mastercard and NEC have joined forces to advance in-store biometric payments. This partnership, outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding, seeks to integrate NEC’s face recognition and liveness verification technology with Mastercard’s payment enablement and user experience optimization to achieve global scalability.
Ajay Bhalla, President of Cyber and Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard, expressed the significance of biometric solutions in providing a seamless, quick, and secure checkout experience, eliminating the need to unlock phones or insert PINs. He emphasized the evolving retail landscape and the importance of offering choices in payment methods.
Takao Iwai, Corporate Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Financial Solutions Division at NEC Corporation, highlighted the security and convenience provided by NEC’s world-class face recognition technology. The collaboration aims to create a new payment experience, ensuring safety in the use of digital technology.
Mastercard’s Biometric Checkout Program, initially piloted in Brazil last year, is set to transform in-store payments. The program allows consumers to make payments with a simple smile or wave, and NEC is an early participant in this initiative. The program addresses security, biometric performance, data protection, and privacy requirements for financial institutions, merchants, and technology providers within the ecosystem.
Merchants stand to benefit significantly from this collaboration. Shorter lines, increased security, and enhanced hygienic conditions are expected outcomes. Additionally, loyalty programs can be seamlessly integrated into the checkout system, providing faster and more tailored offers at the time of purchase.
The collaboration between Mastercard and NEC aligns with the evolving landscape of payment technologies, aiming to provide a secure and convenient checkout experience for customers across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. This strategic partnership signifies a significant step towards the widespread adoption of in-store biometric payments.
