You may soon be able to pay in shops and supermarkets with just a smile.
Mastercard says its new biometric checkout program means customers can pay with a quick smile or a wave of their hand.
It will offer consumers the option to enroll in the programme, in store or at home, via a merchant or identity provider app.
The company says it is working with partners including NEC, Payface, Aurus, PaybyFace, PopID and Fujitsu to ensure the "launch and scale of these types of new checkout capability around the globe".
The first pilot is underway in Brazil across five supermarkets in São Paulo.
Newstalk's technology correspondent Jess Kelly told Breakfast: "You can simply just smile: your image that you preloaded into the system will appear, and if they can verify that it is you then you are good to go".
But she says if you're having a bad day, you may not have to fake it.
"It's the technology that's kind of being used in the airports.
"It's all about the width of your face, the distance between your eyes, the distance between your pupils and all that sort of stuff.
"So you may not actually have to smile, which is good news for people like me.
"But it is absolutely in the running, and they're saying that it's going to be available globally later this year.
"We could see it here in Ireland before Christmas of this year".
Ajay Bhalla is president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard.
"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."
