South Dakota School of Mines & Technology partners with Nexus USA to pilot biocryptology payment system on campus

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Nexus USA have partnered on a unique biometric program to allow students and faculty to pay for goods with only a fingerprint scan.

The program makes use of Biocryptology, which goes beyond the fingerprint to read multiple layers into the skin and detect hemoglobin in the blood. The patented technology on the back end turns each finger scan into a series of valueless numbers that change every time the finger is introduced.

The implementation of this system at the South Dakota school is a pilot program and is being tested by 50 students and four faculty members at two locations on campus. These test users deposit money into an account already associated with their biometric details and use the account to pay for food and other items on campus.

Biocryptology is able to read into layers of the skin using radio frequency and the company suggests it further protects against identity theft as fewer forms of identification are needed to be carried on a person and the system operates in a highly-secure, closed and uniquely encrypted environment.

“Advancing technology to transform lives is what we do at the School of Mines, and we are proud to be not only the first university but indeed the first organization of any kind in the world to pilot this groundbreaking program,” SDSM&T Acting President Duane Hrncir, Ph.D said. “We are excited about being on the front end of this technology. It’s a natural fit for us to partner with Nexus USA and Hanscan.”

Nexus USA is a subsidiary of Hanscan Identity Management, based in Spain.

“Nexus needed a place that was going to be technologically advanced enough to handle this and with a student population savvy enough. We hope they will give us some feedback on how to make this a better product and to find a better way to help market it. This is an innovative university, and we really need to show the world,” Al Maas, Nexus USA’s President said.

“The convenience factor is huge. It’s safe, and I believe it’s going to accelerate fast. We’re in tune with the technology age. Look at how the fax went to email and then to our cell phones. Within three years we’ve gone from making calls to taking care of everything we need in our lives,” Maas said.

Article Topics

biocryptology  |  biometrics  |  commercial applications  |  education  |  fingerprint scanner  |  RFID