Google adds biometric credit card authentication, touch-to-fill support for Android

Google has introduced biometric support for credit card data in Chrome Autofill on Android devices and a touch-based password auto fill feature for accounts list. Users no longer have to bother with saving credit card information or confirming the cad’s CVC, as the new process is aiming to provide a more seamless experience through fingerprint or facial recognition confirmation.

Last year’s Pixel 4 smartphone came equipped with 3D facial recognition for phone unlocking and payments, yet improvements had to be made to check for liveness, following complaints about a vulnerability that allowed users to unlock the phone with their eyes closed.

According to the announcement – “Going forward, Chrome will allow you to enroll your device to retrieve card numbers via biometric authentication, such as your fingerprint. You still need to provide your CVC the first time you use your credit card, but for future transactions, you will be able to confirm your credit card using biometric authentication — instead of requiring you to pull out your wallet and type in its CVC.”

The biometric feature is not mandatory, and users can opt out in the settings menu. For security purposes and to ensure the information does not leave the device, Chrome uses the WebAuthn standard, accepted last year as an official industry standard by W3C and the FIDO Alliance. It will soon be available for mobile devices, as it is already operational on Mac and Windows operating systems.

Usernames and passwords are no longer a hassle for Chrome users. Thanks to its recently introduced “touch-to-fill” feature, users have access to a password management feature to see all saved accounts for a certain website and simply choose the account they want to log in with. Google expects the feature, as well as other intuitive capabilities, to be available in the immediate future.

Article Topics

Android  |  authentication  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  mobile device  |  secure transactions