Brits Split on Finger Vein Biometric Tech
The UK banking industry has given a lukewarm response to a forthcoming trial of finger vein authentication by Hitachi and Japanese credit card issuer JCB. In a trial set to start next month, 200 Hitachi employees will use the biometric technology to pay for purchases at the companyÆs cafeteria and shops in Tokyo.
Hitachi's technology lets consumers pay for purchases via a finger vein reader instead of swiping credit cards on a card reader and signing their names. The data is then matched with finger vein patterns that are held by credit card issuers. While the British BankersÆ Association (BBA) has expressed interest in HitachiÆs biometric payment method, the UK payment industry association, UK payment association APACS isnÆt so sure. UK financial institutions would consider finger vein authentication in an effort to beat fraudsters, a BBA spokeswoman told the Scotsman on Sunday newspaper. However, APACS spokesperson Sandra Quinn says that the UK is committed to chip-and-PIN card payments for quite a period of time. ôWeÆve reassured the retailers that thereÆll be no new industry-wide developments on cards at the point of sale for five to seven years,ö she tells ePaynews. ôI wonder whether by that stage itÆll be a new type of verification thatÆll be current rather than biometrics.ö Dave Birch, a director of UK-based smart card advisory firm Consult Hyperion, thinks there is a cultural context to the Japanese interest in finger vein technology. ôIn Japan, customers are not keen on touching things such as keypads that have been touched by lots of other people,ö he tells ePaynews. ôSo a biometric solution like this (Hitachi finger vein authentication) is very appropriate.ö John Scott, director of the Scottish Human Rights Centre, would like to see very strict rules forbidding banks from passing on biometric information. ôCommercial organizations have a very bad record on keeping this kind of information to themselves,ö he told the Scotsman on Sunday. Related Links
Hitachi finger vein money
Hitachi finger vein Authentication
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