KONA biometric payment card one step closer to commercialization

Korean IT corporation Kona I has announced its biometric payment card has received Mastercard’s Vendor Letter of Approval, bringing the solution one step closer to commercialization.

Kona I is Precise Biometrics’ partner in the smart cards product area. In fact, the biometric technology behind the card itself is provided by Precise Biometrics.

“We are happy that our fingerprint technology integrated into the payment smart card from Kona I is now receiving the Mastercard approval,” said Precise Biometrics CEO Stefan K. Persson.

“[It is] an important step forward for bringing user-friendly payment cards with biometric authentication on the market”, he added.

Receiving Mastercard’s endorsement means the biometric payment card satisfies Mastercard compliance requirements and procedures, including CAST, CQM, CSI, and IAT.

Kona I’s biometric card features a built-in fingerprint recognition sensor and runs on the Precise Biometrics product BioMatch Card. The algorithm solution for fingerprint recognition in biometric cards is designed to enable passwordless secure contactless payments.

Before the recent endorsement from Mastercard, Kona I was also selected as a card supplier for a Visa biometric payments card pilot in 2018.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  certification  |  fingerprint recognition  |  Kona I  |  Mastercard  |  Precise Biometrics  |  research and development