The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) is adding palm vein biometrics to its national biometric performance testing and certification program.
The addition makes palm vein (dorsal hand vein recognition) the sixth biometric modality to receive national certification, joining South Korea’s existing programs for fingerprint, finger vein, iris, and facial recognition, as well as presentation attack detection (PAD) standards.
KISA certification is considered the domestic standard of assurance required for biometric vendors to sell their technology into high-trust public institutions and the financial sector. By creating a formal certification pathway for this modality, KISA is effectively opening the Korean market to palm vein technology providers, who can now obtain the official approval needed to compete.
The agency said the new category was added to match rapidly advancing and diversifying biometric technology. KISA specifically identified palm vein as a modality in high demand from the financial services sector because it is contactless, highly accurate, and difficult to forge.
The demand reflects a broader post-pandemic shift away from contact-based biometrics. Palm vein technology is increasingly positioned as an ideal solution for high-security environments, offering the hygienic benefits of contactless technology like facial recognition but without associated public privacy and surveillance concerns. Korean airports have deployed palm vein authentication and retailers are implementing the technology for payments.
To receive the new certification, palm vein devices must demonstrate an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 1 percent for fixed deployments or 1.5 percent for dynamic (on-the-move) deployments when tested against KISA’s databases.
Sources: ChosunBiz
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
