MasterCard has started a trial of an online identity check that uses biometrics as an alternative to cumbersome password-based systems.MasterCard Identity Check will run on the company's existing 3-D Secure system, which is an established process for checking an online consumer's identity.The trial, which is being run in the United States and The Netherlands, will use various forms of biometrics, including fingerprint detection, facial recognition, cardiographs and voice recognition.MasterCard Australasia's head of market development and innovation, Garry Duursma, said the problem with existing methods used to check identities online was that they took shoppers away from the retailer's website.Established 3-D Secure process, such as MasterCard's SecureCode, add an authentication step for online transactions. In its current form SecureCode redirects consumers to the card issuing bank where they are usually required to key in a password before being allowed to complete the transaction. Consumers don't much like the process. It takes time and they may be uncertain about whether they are actually dealing with their card issuer.A high proportion of online shoppers drop out of the transaction during the authentication process.Duursma said: "This final step can be time consuming and potentially result in the purchase being declined or abandoned."He said biometrics or SME-delivered one-time passwords could make the process quicker and more intuitive.