SmartMetric issues update on biometrics-activated card, other fingerprint-based offerings

SmartMetric says it will continue to develop its biometrics-activated payment card with an embedded fingerprint sensor, and once it’s been fully launched, will release its other biometric offerings.

Having faced some significant hurdles, including a recently-discontinued supply of its silicon based fingerprint sensor, the company says it has invested a significant engineering effort to replace the sensor, and to make further electronic enhancements to its other biometric products. According to the company’s CEO, Chaya Hendrick, SmartMetric will incorporate fingerprint-activated RFID, NFC and Bluetooth Light into the next generation of its cards.

Currently, SmartMetric says it’s in sales discussions for its biometric activated chip card with financial institutions in Europe, Asia and Latin America where the company plans on first releasing the card. Following the launch in these markets, SmartMetric says it will launch the product in the U.S.

In 2012, the company released its medical keyring – a USB device activated by a fingerprint used to store medical records and information – on a trial basis. It is now waiting for the full launch of the fingerprint card, and then it will relaunch the keyring device, with sales and marketing focused on distribution through health industry relationships. The previous trial launch was direct to consumers.  

Earlier this month the company announced that it was also looking to add a color display to its biometric-activated ID card. 

Last year, a judge ruled that SmartMetric’s long-standing patent lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard was not valid. The company’s complaint claimed that MasterCard and Visa infringed its patent for a system to automatically connect to a network.

As Bloomberg reports, the judge ruled that neither Visa nor MasterCard infringed on SmartMetric’s patents, saying “the parties here are comparing apples and oranges.”

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  embedded sensor  |  fingerprint  |  SmartMetric