Mastercard Introduces AR-Powered Retail Shopping Experiences

Mastercard announced Monday (Oct. 23) an augmented reality shopping experience that, for the first time, incorporates Masterpass and Identity Check Mobile with iris authentication for payments.

In a press release, the payments company said the technology, developed with Qualcomm Technologies, provides photorealistic augmented reality to give consumers a customized, security-focused shopping experience.

“At Mastercard, we are seeing major shifts in how commerce is conducted, as people lead increasingly connected, digital lifestyles,” said Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s executive vice president of digital partnerships, in the press release. “As the physical and digital worlds blend together, we are focused on developing solutions that provide merchants with the ability to accept payments across all technology platforms possible – in-store, in-app, online, and in AR and VR – to help drive how people will experience shopping and payments in the future.”

According to Mastercard, the new AR experience will not only let consumers view digital representations of products before purchasing, but they will also be able to learn more about what they are buying, see additional options not available in the physical location and get instant recommendations or other information.

When they’re finished shopping, users can pay for items using Masterpass, which will first authenticate the user’s iris using Qualcomm Technologies’ iris authentication. The shopper then selects a card from their Masterpass-enabled wallet and completes the purchase by selecting the Masterpass button on the screen. Items can be taken home from the store or shipped, depending on availability, Mastercard said in the press release.

Separately, Jessica Turner, executive vice president of Digital Payments and Labs at MasterCard, told PYMNTS in an interview that the technology will provide consumers a “customized and secure shopping experience” along with “relevant information while they are shopping.”

The companies, which also included ODG, developed the technology as a proof of concept that could help retailers find new ways to lure consumers into stores and generate increased revenue.

The prototype leverages Masterpass by Mastercard and Identity Check Mobile, which enables buyers to authenticate with physical traits including fingerprint, facial and voice recognition software; ODG’s development of the AR shopping experience, as well as its R-9 smart glasses with enhanced iris tracking cameras and extra-wide field of view; and Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform running the Snapdragon XR SDK and iris authentication technology, with liveliness detection for a superior authentication experience.