Fingerprint Cards broadens partnerships to scale biometric payment cards

Fingerprint Cards is looking for smartcard industry partners such as payment networks, top card manufacturers and issuers, leading secure element and top inlay providers to help scale biometric payment cards for commercial volume deployment, the company announced.

The current coronavirus outbreak has generated an increase in contactless transactions, even in countries like Germany that normally prefer cash transactions. In Germany, the company claims, contactless card transactions have gone up from 35 percent to 50 percent this year.

This leads to an increased payment gap which might lead to a rise in fraud attempts, creating a need for contactless biometric payments. Not only will consumers be looking for safe and secure transactions, but they will be more reserved when touching keypads is involved. Some 38 percent of consumers, Fingerprint Cards says, were concerned about contactless card security.

Biometric technology developed by Fingerprint Cards has been deployed in more than 20 contactless international pilots such as the first commercial biometric bank card and the first global payment network commercially certified biometric payment card. The company also notes that it is comfortable with competition, and will not exclude any potential partner from its ecosystem, so long as their visions align.

“Since we first began our mission to develop biometric payment cards, it has always been clear to us that partnership and collaboration will be necessary for success in this market,” said Michel Roig, SVP Business Line Payments & Access at Fingerprint Cards, in a prepared statement. “Together with our selected and leading partners we are exceptionally well positioned to drive this new, but proven, technology and bring consumers the trust and experience needed for contactless payments.”

This month, Fingerprint Cards partnered with Feitian to develop biometric payment cards and access devices such as physical access cards and FIDO-enabled devices for logical access.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors  |  partnerships  |  secure element  |  smartcards