PURCHASE, N.Y.—Commuters may soon be able to ditch their bus pass and access public transport with technology identifying them by the way they walk.
Mastercard is working with transport firms to develop a new system that would authenticate passengers by their gait, MarketWatch reported.
“The payment provider said everyone has a unique walk, and it is investigating innovative behavioral biometrics such as gait, face, heartbeat and veins for cutting edge payment systems of the future,” MarketWatch said.
“We are working with transport organizations where your face or gait will authenticate you,” Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence solutions for Mastercard, told MarketWatch. “The way you hold your phone, which ear you use, and how your fingers touch the buttons are all unique to you. We have been testing heartbeat, vein technology, and the way people walk to authenticate people.”
“The gait technology is the most unusual. Closed-circuit television cameras would identify passengers approaching transport barriers. Once the system recognizes the individual, it would let them pass after matching them with an account that is in credit or linked to a valid payment card,” MarketWatch explained.