INTERVIEW: Panini CEO Richard Kane on Banking with Biometrics at the Branch

Panini is best known for its check capture solutions, an area of FinTech it pioneered and dominated for over half a century. As digital transformation spurred a state of rapid evolution in financial services, particularly in banks, the company made the move to digital identity solutions, which have become central to the modern banking experience both online and at the branch. Solidifying its pivot to the financial identity sector, Panini has just announced its BioCred solution: a fingerprint biometrics technology that enables next generation in-branch banking experiences, upgrading the security, convenience, and customer experience of in-person transactions.

In our latest executive interview, FindBiometrics Editor in Chief Peter Counter speaks with Panini CEO Richard Kane about BioCred, how it expands the company’s offerings, and what it means for the world of banking as it continues to change under the influence of identity-first digitization.

Read the full FindBiometrics interview with Richard Kane, CEO, Panini:

Peter Counter, Editor in Chief, FindBiometrics: Panini is the leader in check capture solutions, and the new BioCred solution marks your first foray into biometric identity and authentication. How does BioCred expand upon Panini’s offerings?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: It all builds on our intimacy with leading financial institutions and our understanding of their needs. Panini is known in the banking technology space for the high quality and unmatched reliability of its banking hardware – the use of which will increase efficiency and yield significant savings. By stepping into the secure identity space, we are proposing something entirely new for our brand, while at the same time confirming the promises we’ve already made. But we’re no longer doing it with a hardware-centric proposal. Actually, the BioCred reader, despite its innovativeness, is only a piece of a whole system centered around an immaterial component: the BioCred credential.

FindBiometrics: During this time of digital transformation in finance, user experience is of the utmost importance. Customers demand the highest level of convenience and expect trustworthy security. What is the customer experience enabled by BioCred?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: Biometrics, almost by definition, represents security coupled with convenience. Consumers are already used to scanning their fingers to unlock their devices. Nearly everyone has a smartphone in their pocket that they use dozens of times every day for a variety of functions. This habit opens unprecedented avenues for a technology which is not all that new – it’s simply undergone a change in the way it’s perceived. It has become something familiar and friendly, while formerly it was mostly associated with police investigations, or unlocking a security vault.

With BioCred, customers will feel safer in the branches designed to serve them, thanks to a gesture that is no longer considered too personal or even awkward.

FindBiometrics: While end users demand low-friction solutions, relying parties like banks are in a similar position, demanding easy implementation of new technologies. What is the deployment process for BioCred?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: Our latest frontier in our core offering is the emergence of intelligent scanners, which are capable of autonomous processing, easier to install and support than traditional peripherals, and allow a wider range of applications. We believe intelligent devices are the future, so we are extending this philosophy to BioCred. The reader is directly connected to the branch LAN, while the internal user interface is likely to be replaced by a bank-customized one. To make the most of the solution, it will need to be integrated to the bank’s onboarding (identity verification, KYC/AML) and teller softwares, but the HTTPS protocol will make this step much easier than it would be with a traditional API or SDK. Moreover, BioCred readers are capable of remote monitoring thanks to their direct network connectivity. Panini can offer a platform that allows users to remotely check readers’ status, keep their firmware up to date, and even collect diagnostics data.

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FindBometrics: With fraud on the rise, privacy and data security is paramount. How does BioCred handle user data?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: As I mentioned earlier, the BioCred credential is center-stage. Non-biometric customer data (such as name, account number, SSN, and more) and most importantly their personal fingerprint data are packaged together in a unique, encrypted and digitally signed data string. This data is given back to the customer in the form of a QR code on their phone and uploaded to an NFC “companion,” such as a keyring fob, as a second means of data security. Both means are under the customer’s full control. The bank stores no biometric data, which needs to be protected according to privacy law provisions. This creates peace of mind on both ends – bank and customer. And when an enrolled customer enters a branch, they will be able to authenticate offline, with no need for the data to travel over the internet to receive a green light from a database – the green light will come from the reader itself. This approach truly combines security and convenience in an unprecedented way, and we’re sure the market will understand the value of this outstanding proposition.

FindBiometrics: Much of the buzz around financial biometrics in recent years has come from the boom of digital onboarding solutions that allow for remote banking. But we are starting to see a growing demand for in-person biometrics banks. Why is it important to have biometrics in the physical bank branch?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: It’s indisputable that the majority of institutions have been focusing on reducing fraud risks on the growing digital channel. As a consequence, some of them may have been caught off-guard in their most traditional channel, their physical branches, which still represent the most suitable channel to attract high-value customers and establish meaningful and profitable relationships with them. Just imagine: an important customer continually receives updates about all the online security improvements their bank is implementing against cyberthreats, phishing, data breaches, etc., but then they fall victim to an impersonation fraud carried out in a branch because the bank didn’t catch an impostor requesting services with a fake ID. The resulting embarrassment would be far worse than any fraud-induced financial damage!

Today, we’re ready to explain how Panini technology can help shape a secure, modern, and user-friendly in-person experience which can more than justify its relevance and growing prominence in times when physical interaction is being challenged.

FindBiometrics: How do you expect this expansion into biometrics to affect Panini’s trajectory, and how do you expect the banking sector to evolve as strong authentication at the bank becomes increasingly important?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: As we expand beyond the financial market, Panini’s technology and people will both continue to evolve. The business world has always been complex and risky, but that’s truer today than ever. The ability to identify your interlocutor securely without the need to verify the proper confidence levels by jumping through hoops is starting to become the standard, not only for banks, but in many other industries as well, such as healthcare, travel, entertainment, and the public sector.

FindBiometrics: What can we expect to see next from Panini?

Richard Kane, CEO, Panini: We believe that financial institutions are either already looking for an innovative, low-friction, and cost-competitive biometric application, or they are ready for one and just haven’t realized it yet. If the technology is proposed and justified in a meaningful way, we are confident most customers will embrace it enthusiastically. So, while Panini will still be leading the way in the world of payments, you can expect to see our identity-related ventures continue to expand as well!