UAE university researchers develop ‘Pay with a Selfie’ system

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: UAE university researchers develop ‘Pay with a Selfie’ system A teacher at Khalifa University has received a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop technology aimed at improving secure payment systems in developing countries. Professor Ernesto Damiani’s project, called ‘Pay with a Selfie’, uses pictures from camera phones to pay for goods in places that may not possess more traditional payment methods, such as debit or credit card scanner, or where cash may be difficult to obtain due to a lack of banks or ATMs. “Everybody has a smartphone, even in rural or developing areas where there is not much other technology,” says Dr Damiani. “And everyone takes ‘selfies’, so the ability to use these pictures, and combine them with a form of encryption that is unforgeable, and use this as a method of payment, will certainly change how transactions are performed in developing countries, and may aid in the transition from bartering systems to monetary systems, that will, in turn, spur the growth of the economy.” The system requires both purchaser and merchant to carry a simple phone and to visually identify themselves and details of the purchase in a photo, for example they can hold a card or price tag that can be captured in a single photograph. Dr Damiani and his team of researchers, fellow Khalifa University faculty members and students will build software that uses visual cryptography to divide the photograph into two parts, or shares, one sent to each phone. The image is then reconstructed to validate the transaction before transferring payment. The method will even work in areas of low internet connectivity and can even help those who may be illiterate. Dr Damiani and his team will be working closely with the Institut de Mathematiques et de Sciences Physiques, IMSP, of Abomey-Calavi University in Benin to test the system. The plan is to allow students to trial it on campus before introducing it to their home towns and villages. news@7days.ae   Read the original story at: UAE university researchers develop ‘Pay with a Selfie’ system