Fujitsu Places Next Big Bet On Naked Payments with the Japan Racing Association

“Fujitsu says the the JRA will implement the machines at the Tokyo Racecourse on September 22nd, with plans to later expand the biometric terminals to racecourses in Chukyo, Hanshin, and Fukushima, as well as off-course betting facilities.”

Fujitsu has found a rather novel application of its palm vein recognition technology: It’s going to be used in cashless betting machines deployed by the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

The system will enable users to link their palm vein biometrics to prepaid JRA membership cards. When making bets at the machine, all they have to do is perform a simple palm scan, with no need to have even the membership card in possession. The same goes for payouts, with users able to retrieve their winnings with what nearly amounts to a gentle high five with a given machine.

Fujitsu says the the JRA will implement the machines at the Tokyo Racecourse on September 22nd, with plans to later expand the biometric terminals to racecourses in Chukyo, Hanshin, and Fukushima, as well as off-course betting facilities.

The JRA collaboration is the latest illustration of Fujitsu’s effort to pioneer naked payments systems that do not require cards, smartphones, or any other special hardware on the part of end users in order to facilitate transactions. The company also announced that it was working with Japanese credit card company AEON to bring a payments system based on palm vein biometrics to certain convenience stores this September. Fujitsu’s palm vein scanning technology has in the past found a range of applications, but the company is evidently hoping that payments will be its next smart bet.

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September 11, 2018 – by Alex Perala