INTERPOL’s New Tool, a $6M Raise, and Digital ID in Europe – Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

INTERPOL to Roll Out Biometric Matching Tool

INTERPOL has begun to deploy the Biometric Hub, or BioHub, a biometric system that lets police instantly check individuals’ faces and fingerprints against the international policing agency’s biometric database. Developed by IDEMIA, the system was tested across six countries in the Adriatic region, where it was used to detect wanted individuals attempting to move across irregular border crossings. INTERPOL says the tool will be rolled out to its member police and border control agencies over the next two years, and that it expects about a million searches per day using the tool once it is fully deployed.

Palmki Extends Reach in Belgian Sports

Palmki has deployed its palm-scanning payment system in partnership with another Belgian sports team—in this case the Leuven Bears basketball club, which is letting fans register in the system in order buy beverages and snacks with a simple hand scan. The Belgian soccer club KAA Gent announced a similar partnership with Palmki earlier this month. As Palmki continues to grow, it may eventually find itself in competition with Amazon, whose palm payment system is being rolled across Whole Foods stores and other outlets in the US.

Keyless Raises $6M, Splits From Sift

Keyless has raised $6 million in a new funding round, and will be operating as an independent company after spinning off from parent firm Sift. The funding round was led by Rialto Ventures, and builds on previous investments from P101, Primo Ventures, gumi Cryptos Capital, and Ripple’s Xpring to bring Keyless’s total funding to $26 million. Sift had acquired Keyless in November of 2021, but as the latter explains, the firms ultimately “found that their respective products were best suited to servicing differing markets.” Read our full story.

Smart Path Lands in Honolulu

The SITA Smart Path traveler processing system is now in place in Terminals 1 and 2 of the Honolulu Airport. The system uses facial recognition from NEC to match international travelers to their passport or visa photos. Administrators at Honolulu’s Daniel K Inouye International Airport (HNL) framed the deployment as an effort to support US Customs and Border Protection’s effort to establish a biometric entry-exit program across US borders. Smart Path’s reach has been growing around the world, with extensions of the system announced at airports in Frankfurt and the Galápagos over the past month.

Yoti Secures Another Dating App Against Identity Fraud

Jigsaw, a United Kingdom-based dating platform, is using selfie-based identity verification technology from Yoti. It appears to be a central part of the platform, which is preventing unverified users from connecting with other potential dates. The aim is to give users confidence that the other users they are interacting with really are who they say they are. “Our mission is to create the safest and most rewarding space to fall in love,” explained Jigsaw CEO Alex Durrant. Yoti also provided its “MyFace” identity verification system to the Muslim-focused dating app Muzz earlier this year.

ITRC Report Delves Into Face Biometrics

The Identity Theft Resource Center’s Biometric Working Group has published a new discussion paper tackling the need for technological solutions to prevent identity crime. A key takeaway is in the paper’s title: “Data Alone Can No Longer Be Trusted as the Sole Source of Truth About a Person’s Identity”. In recognition of this conclusion, the paper’s authors turned to experts from academia and business, as well as policy and technical experts, for guidance on practical solutions to the problem of identity assurance and identity crime. Facial biometrics emerged as an important technological solution.

Digital ID Developments in Czechia, Luxembourg

The Czech Republic’s Chamber of Deputies, one of the country’s two houses of parliament, has passed draft legislation clearing the way for a digital ID that Czechs will be able to use in lieu of a physical ID. Czechia’s Digital Information Agency is currently working on a mobile app to house the digital ID, dubbed “eDoklady” (translated as “eDocuments”), which is expected to launch in 2024. Official acceptance of the digital ID will be implemented in stages, with an initial stage requiring central state agencies to accept digital IDs, followed by police and regional government authorities.

The government of Luxembourg has revealed that it will pilot a mobile-based digital ID system as part of the European Union’s European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet program. It will do so as part of the large “Potential” consortium, which features a number of stakeholders including IDEMIA, though it is not yet clear if the French multinational’s technology will be used in Luxembourg’s pilot. The country’s Ministry for Digitalisation and Government IT Centre (CTIE) will oversee the trial, which will focus on four use cases for the digital ID: e-government services, bank account creation, e-signatures, and mobile driver’s licenses.

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November 29, 2023 – by Alex Perala