Ingenico, a global leader in payments acceptance solutions, and Fujitsu Frontech North America, through its subsidiary Fulcrum Biometrics Inc., unveiled a secure, accurate and seamless biometric payment solution based on palm vein identification. This innovation enables merchants to speed up checkout, minimize the risks of fraud, and streamline the customer experience.
The solution enables contactless payments, reduces queues and transforms in-store commerce. Designed on Ingenico's AXIUM range, its Android payment terminals, the solution allows consumers to identify themselves and authenticate their payments simply by moving the palm of a hand over a near infra-red (NIR) sensor. There is no need to take out a credit card or enter a PIN, making your hand the only payment method necessary.
According to the announcement, palm vein identification is one of the most accurate biometric identification technologies; it is less intrusive and more secure than alternatives such as fingerprints and facial recognition, and it is easier to implement and operate.
The solution combines Ingenico's understanding of the business needs of merchants and its expertise in payment technology with Fujitsu's best-in-class identification algorithm for analyzing and matching biometric data. It leverages Fujitsu's market proven PalmSecure technology and incorporates cutting-edge biometric identification solutions developed by Fulcrum Biometrics.
To enroll consumers in the service, merchants first take a near infra-red (NIR) scan of a customer's palm using a device designed by Ingenico that incorporates the Fujitsu PalmSecure-F Pro Sensor and software. This image is encrypted, tokenized and linked to the customer's payment card in Ingenico's secure cloud environment. In contrast to facial recognition and fingerprints, it is not possible for hackers to take closeup pictures of internal palm vein structures to make fraudulent transactions.
Michel Léger, senior executive vice president, global solutions development at Ingenico, commented in the announcement: "Palm vein biometrics is the most secure method for identifying customers and authenticating payments. 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. 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 unrival experiences in-store. This partnership is set to transform and revolutionize payment experiences for consumers."
Ken Nosker, CEO of Fulcrum Biometrics and Fujitsu Frontech North America VP of Biometrics added in the announcement: "The world is embracing biometrics. Palm vein identification is the most private and secure technology in the market and gives consumers the contactless, hygienic, and frictionless payment solution that they are demanding. Our retail customers are lining up to pilot the technology. Combining Fujitsu Frontech North America's unrivalled experience in biometric hardware and identification with Ingenico's global scale and payments expertise, our solution will be a game changer for merchants around the world."
Shuhei Oyake, president and CEO of Fujitsu Frontech North America also added in the announcement: "Our palm vein technology provides the most advanced consumer protection available in any biometric modality. 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."
