Clear accelerates growth in travel; expands into health, social media

Clear has already seen success in the travel sector with its biometric authentication being used to streamline check-ins and security screening. Now, the company wants to expand into other industries, such as health and social media.

It is still growing in travel, however.

Pittsburgh International Airport is deploying Clear infrastructure. The airport is getting a $600,000 upfront payment from and a 10 percent revenue share from Alclear, maker of Clear, over a five-year contract.

Clear is designed to enable enrolled travelers to bypass manual identification checks and instead walk directly to the front of the Transportation Security Administration screening line, the airport says.

Membership in Clear costs about $16 per month, and confers priority screening. Depending on their TSA Precheck status, members can bypass some steps of the security process.

Clear has long had ambitions as a platform that extends beyond travel, however.

Wellstar Health System chooses Clear for identity verification

Wellstar Health System has hired Clear to make it easier for health system customers to access personal health information.

“We’re excited to power safer, easier experiences — physically and digitally,” says Caryn Seidman-Becker, CEO of Clear.

Wellstar is one of Georgia’s largest and most integrated healthcare systems, according to the announcement. It operates 9 hospitals, 34 imaging centers, and numerous other facilities in the state.

The vendor says the biometrics deployment will save time and money, reduce fraud risk and improve security. Catalyst by Wellstar, a service of the health system, will also participate in the collaboration.

Partnerships extending Clear’s reach

The Wellstar deal continues a recent pattern of finding partners in verticals other than travel where its biometric authentication can be used in access management.

Clear announced just weeks ago it is teaming up with Health Gorilla to provide biometric access to portable medical records. The companies say the Individual Access Services platform allows patients to access their health information quickly and securely.

Clear partnered with Microsoft this month to provide free identity verification for nearly 200 million U.S. LinkedIn users.

Additionally, airports in the U.S., Vietnam, Kazakhstan and India have launched biometric projects involving digital ID verification and authentication. The TSA is expected to launch a new application for its PreCheck program, with Clear and Idemia added to the enrollment.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  CLEAR  |  digital ID  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification