Dive Brief:

• MasterCard last week said that next year it will be launching a biometric security payment card in partnership with Norwegian biometric security company Zwipe. 

• The card, which underwent a successful pilot test in Norway according to the companies, has a fingerprint sensor in the card, forgoing the need and the security risk of cloud storage — the same approach used by Apple’s Touch ID. Apple Pay goes live Monday.

• The cards will also be chip-and-PIN or EMV enabled.

Dive Insight:

While Apple, which launches Apple Pay Monday, is probably hoping that retailers and consumers alike will eventually find its Apple Pay and security features indispensable, MasterCard and Zwipe are coming at things from the opposite side — that you don’t need iOS to have biometric payment security. 

Payment security has certainly become a pressing issue, as more retailers continue to suffer payment system security problems. And as consumers continue to feel tentative about contactless and mobile payments due to security issues, this is the kind of thing that could do a world of good on both counts.