FinGo and Croma partner for finger vein biometrics market expansion

Two UK-based companies using Hitachi’s finger vein biometric technology are joining forces to bring their combined expertise into each other’s sectors and beyond.

Croma Security Solutions Group and FinGo, a subsidiary of Sthaler, plan to tackle COVID-19 certificate authentication, access management and offer new and existing clients biometrics-based payment systems. FinGo already has a relationship with Mastercard for Fingopay.

Croma Security brings the software and hardware solutions for site access management. It works with construction companies and schools to secure sites and track attendance. Its FASTVEIN systems are built with finger vein sensors from Hitachi which detect the intricate pattern of veins in the end of a finger. Croma Security claims the approach is as accurate and secure as iris scanning, but delivered at a fraction of the cost.

FinGo’s systems use the same biometrics, but for payments and an increasing number of identity-related use cases. FinGo is working with the Egyptian government to integrate vein recognition into the national identity scheme. It has taken part in trials for COVID health passes for care home staff, age verification in pubs, and collecting customer details as part of COVID-related contact-tracing efforts in the UK. It has even kitted out a sports club so that members can make payments from a digital wallet.

A release from the companies states that FinGo is in talks with policymakers over the use of FinGo and vein ID for vaccine certification.

For biometric payments, FinGo is already set up with Mastercard. Last June, Mastercard accepted the firm into the white-labeled Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS). This would effectively allow Mastercard users to pay by scanning their unique finger vein pattern.

“FinGo is delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with Croma. The combined capability, coupling many years of experience in the security and access management arena with our payments and digital identity management expertise, will create a unique offering,” comments Nick Dryden, FinGo CEO.

“We look forward to taking the joint offering to market in 2022 and giving existing and new customers an opportunity to deploy one single secure and convenient biometric solution.

His counterpart at Croma, Roberto Fiorentino, adds, “This collaboration will give rise to the sharing of resource and solutions to bring exacting client offerings across a number of verticals in which we each currently operate. We are excited about the opportunity of building on our position in the provision of human identification, biometric payment systems and access control solutions.”

COVID-19 has accelerated the shift to biometrics, whether in person or remote. Although finger vein reading requires contact, the firms still see real opportunity emerging.

“We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership,” comments Sebastian Morley, chairman at Croma, “This is a clear direction of travel post COVID when credible service providers are seeking to collaborate in order to deliver for clients and shareholders.”

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric identification  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  Croma Security Solutions  |  digital identity  |  Fingo  |  identity verification  |  vein biometrics  |  vein recognition