Biometric payment card commercialization coming this year says Fingerprint Cards CEO

Fingerprint biometrics companies Fingerprint Cards and Zwipe see the commercialization of biometric payment cards receiving a boost from contactless payments growth. A legal battle between Hytera and Motorola has resulted in a bankruptcy, while Synaptics will have more positive news to share, and Goodix has announced a new implementation.

Fingerprint Cards CEO Christian Fredrikson says major commercial launches of biometric payment cards are coming this year, speaking during Erik Penser Bank’s Corporate Day presentation.

The potential addressable payments market a few years down the line, including payment cards, wearables, and USB dongles and token, will be between six and eight billion units per year, the company expects, compared to 1.5 billion units for mobile devices, and 1.7 billion units for access control. Among payment cards, 60 percent are expected to be contactless, and Fredrikson says FPC believes all of them will eventually be fingerprint-enabled.

Fredrikson notes the importance of supplying biometric sensors for Samsung smartphones, and reviews the landscape for its mobile device and access control segments. The main impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the company in Q1 has been some disruption to supply and logistics around factory shutdowns in China. In Q2, the decline in demand for the mobile industry is the main affect, though supply remains the company’s chief hurdle going forward.

For payments, contactless growth is accelerating, which Fredrikson says boosts both smartphone and card-based payment demand.

“We expect the bigger banks in Europe in the bigger countries to launch this year commercially, which is of course the trigger point for really starting to move into the payment industry and getting really worry-free worry-less payments for good,” Fredrikson says.

Fingerprint Cards is cooperating currently with the top three card manufacturers, and in trials so far the company has found consumers do not want to give cards back on completion, a strong positive indication of user satisfaction. Banks expect to be able to charge for the cards, offering an additional service as they eliminate payment caps.

The pandemic has also boosted the company’s prospects in the access control space, including with fingerprint-enabled access cards and PCs for logical access control, Fredrikson says. The automotive industry and Aadhaar-based iris payments are also mentioned as potential growth areas.

Zwipe has published a message from its CEO, likewise predicting that accelerated demand for contactless payments will drive demand for its technology.

André Løvestam recently delivered an investor presentation for analyst RedEye’s Growth Day 2020, and also delivered a keynote address as part of a Group Futurista webinar.

Hytera America files for bankruptcy

A lawsuit by Motorola has led to Hytera America and Hytera Communications America (West) filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Urgent Comms reports.

The ongoing litigation, in which three Hytera employees the company calls “bad apples” accessed more than 7,000 Motorola documents before leaving for Hytera in 2008, has resulted in a ruling awarding Motorola $345.8 million in compensation and $418.8 million in punitive damages. Hytera is requesting a new trial, or significant reductions in the award, and the two companies have participated in mediated sessions without reaching a settlement, according to the report.

The dispute is over technology related to two-way radios, though both companies also offer biometric technologies.

Hytera describes the bankruptcy filing as “routine financial restructuring.”

Synaptics investor day

Synaptics has announced it will hold its virtual investor day event on June 9, 2020 from 9:00am to 12:00pm Pacific Time.

A live webcast will be broadcast from the investor relations section of the company’s website, with a replay available afterwards.

Goodix implemented by vivo and TWS

The in-display fingerprint biometrics on the new vivo X50 flagship series of smartphones are provided by an optical sensor from Goodix, the company announced. Additionally, Goodix provides a smart amplifier and audio capture solution for the product line.

The newly-released TWS Neo Earbuds, meanwhile, feature a two-in-one in-ear detection and touch control solution from Goodix.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  contactless  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Goodix  |  Hytera  |  Motorola  |  payments  |  stocks  |  Synaptics  |  Zwipe