FPC Sensor Used in Middle East Biometric Payment Card Project

A Fingerprint Cards sensor is being used in a new Visa-led pilot of biometric payment card technology. In a statement, the company announced that it’s the provider of a touch sensor for “the recently announced battery-less dual interface (chip- and contactless-enabled) biometric payment card pilot with Visa,” adding that the card technology being used in the pilot is provided by Zwipe.

The statement presumably refers to this week’s announcement that Lebanon-based FinTech specialist Areeba will offer Gemalto’s biometric Visa card to its client network. FPC’s involvement in the project points to a wide-ranging collaboration as various firms seek to pioneer the emerging biometric payment cards market: Earlier this year, Visa announced a pair of trials of such technology, with one in Cyprus involving Gemalto and Zwipe, and another in America involving Fingerprint Cards, Precise Biometrics, and Kona I. It now appears that all of these firms may be working together more closely in pursuit of their payment card goals.

In its statement, FPC clarified that this latest project involves card technology from Zwipe, and a sensor from the FPC1300 series announced by FPC toward the end of 2016. While FPC described the project as a “pilot”, it could lead to one some of the world’s first commercial deployments of biometric payment cards, if Areeba’s clients prove enthusiastic in adopting the solution.

–

April 17, 2018 – by Alex Perala