If you’re in a bad mood, infuriated by the high cost of groceries resulting from Joe Biden’s inflationary policies, you might go hungry.
It’s because a major credit card company has launched a program to let people pay their bill with a smile. Or maybe require people to smile when they pay.
You might be saved by the system, however, which also allows you to pay with the wave of a hand.
The biometric process unleashed by Mastercard boasts, “No more fumbling for your phone or hunting for your wallet when you have your hands full – the next generation of in-person payments will only need a quick smile or wave of your hand.”
The company claims, “The trusted technology that uses your face or fingerprint to unlock your phone can now be used to help consumers speed through the checkout. With Mastercard’s new Biometric Checkout Program, all you will need is yourself.”
The company claims globally, 74% of consumers “have a positive attitude towards biometric technology, and its “first-of-its-kind” tech addresses predictions that the market for contactless biometrics will reach $18.6 billion in just a few years.
The company’s own president of “Cyber & Intellence,” Ajay Bhalla, said, “The way we pay needs to keep pace with the way we live, work and do business, offering choice to consumers with the highest levels of security. Our goal with this new program is to make shopping a great experience for consumers and merchants alike, providing the best of both security and convenience.”
The program allows consumers to “check the bill and smile into a camera or wave their hand over a reader to pay.”
The financial company says merchants will benefit from faster transaction times, shorter lines, greater hygiene and better security.
A pilot program already has being launched in Brazil, at St. Marche supermarkets. Middle East and Asian stores are next.
At Expose-News, however, there was a warning that “major supermarkets” in the new program might ban payments with cash or card, demanding that customers sign up and submit their biometrics online.
The report explained, “At the checkout, users will be forced to authenticate their payment by showing their face or the palm of their hand instead of being allowed to pay by card or with cash.”
It continued, “The current spin being used to justify using the biometric payment system and forcing the public to live in a dystopian cashless society is that it will ‘lead to shorter queues, be more hygienic than tapping in a pin, and be less vulnerable to fraud.'”
And regarding Mastercard’s claim that 74% of consumers have a “positive attitude” about the tech, the report wondered, “That number is highly questionable, but are the 74% aware of the dangers of implementing this kind of technology?”
It explained, “All the systems of Digital ID and data-gathering are vulnerable to security breaches. The Equifax breach, for example, compromised an astonishing 145.5 million Social Security numbers. Because of the potential for cyber breaches, hacks in the future could even larger and put entire systems at risk.”
An American political blog suggested the program is part of work by “multinational corporations” to frame up a “dystopian society that monitors your every move and purchase.”
“The best way to push against this draconian system is to always pay cash wherever possible.”
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