2018 Will Be ‘Turning Point’ for Biometric Payment Cards: FPC

This year will mark “the turning point” for biometric payment cards, says Fingerprint Cards.

Writing on its website, the Swedish fingerprint sensor maker lays out the case for a biometric payment cards boom. FPC cites market research indicating that while consumers are largely enthusiastic about the idea of contactless payment cards, 38 percent see security as the main barrier to embracing this technology. That, of course, is where on-card biometrics come in, with solutions starting to emerge that embed fingerprint scanning into the payment card.

The last year has seen a lot of behind-the-scenes work in this area from various players, and in its statement FPC asserts that collaboration is key, and “players from the entire eco-system need to work together” to make a mainstream shift to biometric payment cards happen. FPC highlights the work of components suppliers like NXP Semiconductors, Zwipe, Linxens, and CardLab; card makers such as IDEMIA, Gemalto, and Kona; and, of course, the major players in financial services, Mastercard and Visa.

FPC is involved in an exciting pilot project with the latter right now, alongside Mountain America Credit Union as the issuing financial services provider. It’s one of multiple real-world trials laying the groundwork for large-scale deployments expected to come later this year, and it looks like FPC and its colleagues are well-positioned for the industry shift that will entail.

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February 6, 2018 – by Alex Perala