Safran exec discusses three ways to use payment infrastructures for new functions

In a recent blog post, Jesper Domargård, director of marketing at Safran Identity & Security, discussed three ways of leveraging existing payment infrastructures for new functions: person-to-person payments, apps integrated in terminals, and social benefit distribution and proof of liveness.

Since its launch in the 1970s, card payment infrastructure has been solely used to conduct a payment transaction from a consumer to a merchant.

However, Domargård highlights three examples to emerge in recent years of how the infrastructure can be used beyond its original purpose.

The first example, person-to-person payments, involves a system where cardholders can “push” money from their card to a friend’s card.

In recent years Visa and MasterCard added the “push” functionality with the introduction of Visa Direct and MasterCard Send, respectively.

Facebook allows users to add their card to the Messenger app, and tap a monetary value in a chat with their friend to send them money. Google also announced plans to offer a similar capability through Gmail.

Domargård’s second example is the integration of apps in terminals, where a cardholder inserts a card into the terminal to make a purchase and is presented with different installment options.

As such, the consumer doesn’t need to go through an additional process in front of the rest of the customers in the store as everything is handled in interactions with the terminal screen.

Verifone and MasterCard have both launched an installment app.

His last example is social benefit distribution and proof of liveness, which has been adopted by several developing countries to distribute social benefits to their citizens and to prevent these payments from being sent to deceased citizens or unauthorized individuals.

A biometric identification card is issued to citizens eligible for pensions and the pension is then transmitted to the card, which can be used in any existing payment terminal.

Biometric authentication ensures that the payment is accessed by only the alive and eligible cardholder.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  Safran Identity & Security