NEW YORK: MasterCard has started pilot programmes in the U.S. and the Netherlands to test facial recognition technology to allow customers to verify mobile payments with a selfie.

In the U.S., 200 participants will test the 'selfie pay' system that will be used to verify their identity via their self-portraits, IBS Intelligence online reported.

The trial will see 750 Dutch state-owned bank, ABN Amro users swap their passwords and PINs for fingerprints and facial recognition.

Participants in the three-month trial will be able to download an app which will open a fingerprint or picture window when the user enters a web store checkout.

Arjan Bol, country manager at MasterCard Netherlands, reckons that the test will prove that biometric methods improve the speed and safety of online payments.

"What is easier and more fun than paying through a selfie or fingerprint?" Bol was quoted as saying.

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