UK Care facility trials FinGo vein biometrics for COVID digital health pass

Vein biometrics from FinGo will be trialed as part of its new EN-Covid passport solution in a care home in the United Kingdom.

The Blackpool care facility will implement a device-less solution using FinGo’s biometric vein mapping technology to verify whether or not a staff member or visitor has been tested for COVID-19 as they divide their work hours between care homes.

The solution is intended to ultimately ease moving restrictions between facilities and is envisioned to ease overall restrictions on movement in the public.

EN-Covid uses vein pattern recognition to provide user authentication without the need for mobile devices. Once identification data has been extracted the digital passport application will use Self Sovereign Identification (SSI) technology provided by blockchain firm Blockpool to safely confirm identities and COVID test status and results to determine access for residents and staff.

The trial is the result of a partnership between FinGo and the non-profit privacy firm Enduring Net and is funded by an Innovate UK government grant. It follows similar partnerships between FinGo and the City of Manchester to enhance age verification and contact tracing, as well as ease movement in public spaces with biometrics. Aside from partnerships in the UK, FinGo has also recently been chosen to provide vein biometrics for Egypt’s national ID program. Manchester approved FinGo’s technology for these purposes in July 2020.

“Working with Independent Living, it’s clear that our technology could be a really valuable tool for care settings having to manage vaccine and test verification,” FinGo Chief Commercial Officer Simon Binns said. “It’s far more efficient than physical records, completely secure, accessible to any user, and can be readily rolled out to other care homes across the UK. SSI is an incredibly secure way to store personal data and combined with vein ID biometrics, it could form the basis of a new approach to health passporting.”

After this trial, FinGo and Blockpool envision a wider rollout of their technology to include public spaces. The firms are currently in talks with lawmakers and industry leaders to explore further applications.

“FinGo’s technology could also be vital for other sectors, especially those looking to verify test or vaccine status as they begin to reopen this summer,” Binns added. “We’ve spent many years developing this technology, and our focus recently has been to support the UK as we safely get back to enjoying life post-lockdown. Imagine at sports events or festivals, needing a quick scan of your finger to confirm your up-to-date test or vaccine status, and then being able to use the same system to pay for drinks or food, and prove your age.”

Independent Housing owner Spencer Gibbons commented, “The ability to identify people and present their authorized COVID-19 status instantly, at the door, without breaking any privacy laws, has been invaluable for us. After the difficulties, we’ve seen with Track and Trace, and following our trial, both myself and my team feel this system could be pivotal for the care sector.”

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  credentials  |  data protection  |  finger vein  |  Fingopay  |  identity verification  |  self-sovereign identity  |  Sthaler