Idemia and Next Biometrics deals to power more authentications in India

Biometric authentication solutions using fingerprint, face, and iris biometrics are set to grow in India thanks to the nation’s booming fintech market. Aside from providing convenient one-stop payment solutions, banks and fintech providers are also answering growing calls for safe contactless authentication technology. Two separate deals struck by Next Biometrics and Idemia with Indian firms showcase this upward trend.

Next Biometrics to deliver 20,000 fingerprint sensors to Pagaria Group

India’s fintech market will soon be witnessing an influx of fingerprint biometrics-powered Point of Sales (POS) terminals and Bluetooth readers thanks to a recent deal struck between Next Biometrics and Pagaria Group. The expected volume of sensors to be delivered under the deal throughout 2021 to support the Digital India program has also been increased to 50,000.

According to the deal, which was initiated in January, Next Biometrics will supply 20,000 of its fingerprint sensors for use in POS devices across India beginning in Q1 2021. Signaling the fintech market’s increasing demand for biometric payment solutions, Pagaria has forecasted an additional demand for 25,000 sensors to be delivered soon thereafter. This brings the total forecasted demand to approximately 50,000 units for 2021.

“We are pleased to already announce this additional order from Pagaria. The collaboration with Pagaria Group reaffirms our focus of the growing demand of payment & fintech biometric devices. This enables Pagaria Group to offer smart and slim biometric payment products requiring a high degree of security,” said Next Biometrics CEO Peter Heuman.

Next Biometrics’ recent deal follows a series of partnerships to supply sensors to fintech firms in Belgium and China. The company’s sensors are also being deployed by Singapore’s government and in the African fintech sector.

Idemia to supply biometric authentication platform for Indian Federal Bank

Idemia and Federal Bank Limited India will partner to provide contactless biometric access control to the bank’s employees. Once implemented, the solution allows employees to authenticate themselves through iris and face biometrics for attendance and access control purposes.

The system will be designed around Idemia’s SmartBio SDK to provide a safe alternative to conventional authentication methods such as fingerprint biometrics that require physical contact. This shift to contactless authentication echoes the overall global demand for touchless solutions amid the ongoing pandemic.

“Idemia is proud to partner with Federal Bank to design and implement a secure biometric system that offers a smarter and more efficient working environment for employees. Together, our partnership will address a key operational challenge of the pandemic by reducing contact points. Implementation of this robust, reliable, and powerful access control system reaffirms IDEMIA’s leadership in contactless biometrics for a secure, convenient and hygienic access control in India,” said Pankaj Kundra, Idemia digital business regional head for India, Middle East & Africa.

Article Topics

access control  |  authentication  |  banking  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint sensors  |  IDEMIA  |  India  |  iris recognition  |  Next Biometrics