Buy with the blink of an eye? Amazon wants selfie pay system
Amazon has filed a patent application for a web security system that would see its customers pay for items by taking a couple of selfies.
MasterCard has already run a pilot scheme that enabled 500 test customers to pay for items on their smartphone by taking their own photo, along with a fingerprint scanner on their smartphones.
Amazon's patent is for a two-picture process it claims would eliminate the risk of having a password hacked and prevent any other interlopers or doppelgangers.
The e-commerce giant claims two selfies are all that is needed for a purchaser to prove their identity.
Amazon argues the first photo would establish the buyer's identity before the second - taken after smiling, blinking or moving their head - would prove the buyer wasn't holding up a static photo of another person.
Amazon's submission to the US Patent and Trademark Office said existing pay systems can be undermined if a password is stolen or discovered by another person.
It also said the difficulty of repeatedly and accurately typing passwords on phones or computers meant many people saved them on their devices, making them more vulnerable to hackers.
Amazon argued its two-photo "selfie pay" system would be more secure than processes that rely simply on facial recognition.
Amazon's patent was filed in October last year but has only been recently published.
The application - which can be read online - listed two inventors from the firm's headquarters in Seattle, Yicong Wang and Haizhi Xu, with the application.