Ingenico, a credit card company, has unveiled a palm vein biometric payment system in partnership with Fujitsu Frontech North America and Fulcrum Biometrics. The system will enable contactless transactions, supposedly to streamline the payment process. This solution may also minimize the risk of fraud to businesses but raises many questions surrounding privacy and civil liberties.
The system uses Fujitsu’s PalmSecure technology and Fulcrum’s biometric identification technology.
Related: Palm print payments are rolling out in China and the US
“Palm vein identification is a much faster way of making payments than traditional chip and pin and offers several tangible advantages, with none of the security risks of other biometric methods,” said Ingenico Senior Executive Vice-President of Global Solutions Development Michel Léger in a press release. “We are seeing a lot of interest from merchants in the solution that we have developed with Fujitsu Frontech North America and Fulcrum Biometrics. Palm vein identification gives them new opportunities to authenticate and identify their customers in the most possible seamless way, personalize their offers and create unrivaled experiences in-store. This partnership is set to transform and revolutionize payment experiences for consumers.”
After enrolling through a scan on an Ingenico device, the biometrics are allegedly encrypted and tokenized, linked to a customer’s card, and stored in Ingenico’s cloud environment.
According to Fujitsu and Fulcrum, “retail customers are lining up to pilot the technology.”
“Our palm vein technology provides the most advanced consumer protection available in any biometric modality,” said Shuhei Oyake, president and CEO of Fujitsu Frontech North America. “Your palm vein pattern is totally internal to your body and therefore cannot be captured without your knowledge. Our patented technology for matching palm vein templates without needing to decrypt them means that there is never a time when your unencrypted biometric could be compromised. Fujitsu Frontech North America and Ingenico together will deliver merchants and consumers a long-awaited solution for frictionless and secure payments.”
