MasterCard Gives Biometrics Start-Up A $14M Boost

“These are one of the companies that we partnered with, where it actually creates a device like EKG or the electrical impulse of your heart to authenticate the user,” said Garry Lyons, MasterCard’s chief innovation officer. “It’s a phenomenon called persistent authentication, so you are authenticated throughout the day instead of having to bring your house key, your car keys, your card to get into the office, and a whole slew of passwords. So we’re experimenting little other things and we think biometrics is going to play key part in authenticating the user.”

Bionym’s biometric authentication technology focuses on consumer electronics and MasterCard  uses it to help authenticate its customers’ payments via things like their heartbeat.  Lyons noted that as devices proliferate, secure and seamless transactions will become increasingly necessary when recruiting consumers.

MasterCard has not disclosed its specific contribution to Bionym’s funding round.