NEXT Biometrics Gets First Aadhaar Orders

“NEXT Biometrics says the orders came through its domestic distribution partner, AqTronics Technologies, but that it’s also planning to establish its own subsidiary in India to facilitate future orders, which will be located in Bengaluru.”

Just a couple of months after NEXT Biometrics received certification for its products’ use in India’s Aadhaar program, the company has announced that it has received initial orders for its Scallop fingerprint reader.

Aadhaar is the largest and most ambitious biometric ID program in the world, and is used across a growing number of applications in India, from verifying recipients of government subsidies to ATM transactions. Vendors providing biometric technology for use in Aadhaar authentication must be vetted by the country’s Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) agency, which NEXT Biometrics obtained two months ago.

In announcing its Scallop orders for Aadhaar applications, NEXT Biometrics did not offer details as to the orders’ value or quantities, but the company did assert in a statement that its technology would be used “for Aadhaar based applications like Jeevan Pramaan, the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), Aadhaar based eKYC for banks and telecom, financial inclusion initiatives and the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), among others.”

NEXT Biometrics says the orders came through its domestic distribution partner, AqTronics Technologies, but that it’s also planning to establish its own subsidiary in India to facilitate future orders, which will be located in Bengaluru. To that end, the company adds that it has already “made key additions” to its sales team for the region, which is headed by Ameya Bhagwat, who previously held sales positions with Crossmatch and IDEMIA predecessor Safran (Morpho).

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August 7, 2018 – by Alex Perala