The Minnesota Twins and U.S. Bank are testing a new mobile app that enables fans to apply for a Minnesota Twins Rewards MasterCard by snapping a photo of a driver's license with the camera of an Apple iPad, according to a press release. The feature is meant to speed up the time it takes to enter basic information needed for the application, while also reducing paper and the risk of phony applications.

The Twins and U.S. Bank are conducting the pilot at Target Field where Twins employees are stationed across the facility to accept applications. The new app enables Twins employees to scan an applicant's driver's license to fill in much of what's needed to apply for the card, which is issued by U.S. Bank.

"We're pleased to bring this new innovation to our fans," Joe Morin, client services coordinator for the Minnesota Twins, said in a statement. "Working with our long-standing partners at U.S. Bank, another Minnesota hometown team, the new photo recognition capability brings the latest technology to our fans and represents another step in our effort to make the Twins baseball experience as interesting and convenient as possible."

The information needed to populate the application is captured with a snap of a photo, after which the applicant can verify the information and add additional information for a few other required fields not present on the driver's license. The application is then processed normally, using the same criteria for approval as is standard for the card. The new feature has been in place since June, according to the announcement.

San Diego-based Mitek, which develops mobile imaging technology for financial transactions, worked with U.S. Bank and the Minnesota Twins to create this feature, which has similarly been used in a suite of photo banking services from U.S. Bank, according to the announcement.

"The technology improves an applicant's user experience by eliminating the need to type in much of the required information, helps increase data accuracy and improves security over paper processes," Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer for U.S. Bank Payment Services, said in a statement. "We're pleased to partner with the Minnesota Twins on this initiative and other innovative tools to make payments faster, easier and more rewarding."