FPC to Provide T-Shape Sensors for Seshaasai Biometric Payment Cards in India

Fingerprint Cards (FPC) has formed another biometric card partnership in India. This time around, the company has partnered with Seshaasai, a leading smart card manufacturer that plans to market a biometric payment card in India and the APAC region more generally.

The Seshaasai cards will feature FPC’s T-Shape fingerprint module, which was designed specifically for smart card applications, and can be deployed through a standard manufacturing process. The cards will also take advantage of FPC’s matching software platform.

In that regard, the deal is similar to the agreement that FPC signed with M-Tech Innovations in November of 2020. Like Seshaasai, M-Tech plans to use FPC’s T-Shape sensor to make and distribute a biometric payment card in India, which is rapidly becoming one of the biggest markets for new payment technologies. The country processed 25.5 billion transactions in 2020, and the Reserve Bank of India estimates that there were 906 million debit cards (and another 62 million credit cards) in circulation in India as of June of this year. Meanwhile, a full 71 percent of the payments in the country are expected to be digital payments by 2025.

FPC believes that biometric payment cards will be popular because they will help meet the growing demand for contactless payment options. The company noted that biometric authentication offers greater security and greater convenience than legacy cards, which could allow India to raise a contactless payment cap that currently sits at Rs 5,000 (roughly $67).

“Introducing biometric payment cards offers great benefits for banks, merchants and consumers alike, as contactless payments in India and APAC continue to grow quickly, especially in the post-COVID world“, said Seshaasai Founder Director Pragnyat Lalwani.

“This collaboration will bring consumers in India a more secure, safe and easy payment experience,” added FPC Payments and Access SVP Michel Roig.

FPC’s fingerprint technology has already appeared in numerous biometric card trials, and has moved forward with some commercial launches in 2021. The company’s tech was featured in new biometric cards from BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole.

–

August 26, 2021 – by Eric Weiss