MasterCard rolling out new credit card with fingerprint sensor in 2015

Credit card company MasterCard is rolling out a new contactless payment card in 2015 that uses a fingerprint sensor. The company partnered with Zwipe, which wants to replace a debit card PIN number or credit card signature, with a fingerprint. Consumers just wave the card near an NFC reader at the checkout, with biometric authentication reportedly safer than a chip and PIN system.

The card will roll out to the UK market in 2015, after a trial run conducted in Norway. The card doesn't require a battery and will harvest power from the contactless till at the payment terminal each time it's used. Fingerprint data is stored directly on the card, so MasterCard and retailers won't have an external database that could be breached.

"Our belief is that we should be able to identify ourselves without having to use passwords or pin numbers," said Ajay Bhalla, MasterCard president of enterprise security solutions. "Biometric authentication can help us achieve this."