Bank BPH selects Hitachi’s finger vein biometrics authentication

Hitachi Europe Ltd. announced that it has completed its delivery of finger vein biometrics authentication to Bank BPH S.A., one of the largest banks in Poland and a member of the GE Capital group.

By using Hitachi’s finger vein biometric devices, Bank BPH can provide its customers with more secure money transaction services without PIN numbers to verify individuals.

Bank BPH has already been running a pilot in several branches since June 2012. BPH will implement the system into 22 bank branches by the end of September 2012. Subsequently, all 287 branches in Poland will start using it as a main method of authentication at teller counters by the end of 2012.

Finger vein authentication uses infrared light to capture the unique pattern of veins in a person’s finger. This pattern is stored as a template and used to verify the person’s identity on the next occasion they use the device. Impossible to counterfeit, contactless, discreet and non-invasive, it combines the convenience of fingerprint with the accuracy of iris scanning.

After carefully studying the advantages of each of the available technologies on the market, Bank BPH selected finger vein biometric authentication systems as the most suitable solution for their network, as proposed by a consortium consisting of Hitachi Europe Ltd. and Wincor Nixdorf.

A special finger vein authentication device with an Ethernet interface adopted by Bank BPH has been developed based on the biometric module from Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions, Corp., a joint venture of Hitachi, Ltd. and OMRON Corporation, a leading developer of ATMs with finger vein biometric authentication in Japan.

Approximately 1,800 finger vein devices in total will be installed throughout the Bank BPH branch network. In Poland, Hitachi’s finger vein authentication solutions were first introduced by the Polish co-operative banks sector in 2010 for the security of ATM transactions and benefits in payment schemes.

Recently, Hitachi’s finger vein authentication solutions were also adopted by Is Bankasi A.S., the largest Turkish commercial bank for ATM security. BT Group is also collaborating with Hitachi to provide finger vein authentication technology for identification management at financial institutions.

The Hitachi Group aims to expand its finger vein authentication business to Europe, North America, China, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Its finger vein business began in 2002.

Article Topics

ATMs  |  authentication  |  banks  |  biometrics  |  financial services  |  finger vein scanning  |  fingerprint  |  identity management  |  iris patterns  |  PIN  |  vein recognition