Australia: Visa to start testing fingerprint scan to verify payments

Shoppers in Australia may soon have to scan their fingerprint in order to process a payment as credit card operator Visa doubles down on fraud.

Visa has announced a number of changes aimed at reducing the risk of payment fraud. One of those is the use of facial or finger scan to approve credit card payments – a system Apple put in place last year to unlock phones, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The idea is that for purchases over $100 users will be able to scan their fingerprint instead of using a PIN. This option would only be possible for those using “digital wallet”. Visa believes the system would make in-person transactions safer.

"Five years ago, the idea that entering a PIN could become a rare experience would have been almost unbelievable," said Joe Cunningham, Visa Asia Pacific head of risk.

Visa is also working to make online transactions securer as e-commerce becomes widely used and fraudulent online transactions account for the vast majority of payment fraud in Australia. This form of fraud has more than doubled since 2011, reaching AUS$417.6 million in 2016.

Australia has become a “cashless society” in recent years with mobile payments and credit cards becoming the norm.