The SmartMetric Biometric Credit Cards Are the Next Big Thing for the Banking Industry

According to independent consumer research contracted by SmartMetric, 80% of U.S. cardholders are seriously concerned about credit card and identity theft, and 67% say they wouldn’t mind paying for biometric cards.

Research by Visa is in line with SmartMetric’s research.

• More than 65% of consumers are already familiar with biometrics
• 86% are interested in using biometrics to verify identities or make payments
• 70% believe that biometrics are easier than using passwords or PINs

The SmartMetric biometric card solution for Banks provides a huge leap forward in credit card security, moving security away from PINs and signatures to the vastly stronger biometric fingerprint of the card user.

Built inside the SmartMetric biometric card is a fully functional fingerprint scanner. The scanner, along with the powerful internal ARM Cortex processor, stores the card holder's fingerprint inside the card. At no time does the person's fingerprint ever leave the card and it doesn’t require the Bank to hold the card holder's fingerprint.

Embedding the card holder's fingerprint into their biometric credit card is as easy as storing your fingerprint on your mobile phone. When the card user receives their card from their Bank, they simply touch the square sensor on the card's surface four times and thereafter the user’s fingerprint is permanently stored inside the card. From then on the card will only work in conjunction with the card holder touching the card's little square sensor on the top of the card.

“It was important for us to ensure that our card was absolutely frictionless for the card user in that it didn’t add time to but in fact speeded up the card payment experience at the checkout or ATM. Our biometric card allows for the doing away of PINs altogether. The fingerprint scan is done in less than a quarter of a second, thereby turning on the card and authenticating the user in less time it takes to reach across to the payment terminal or to insert into an ATM. Instant, seamless and secure are the hallmarks of our biometric card solution,” said today SmartMetric’s President and CEO, Chaya Hendrick.

According to industry data there are now more than 11 billion chip-based payment cards issued globally. The SmartMetric biometric card solution uses its miniature fingerprint scanner built inside the card to identify and validate the card user. In under a second following a fingerprint match, the card is “turned on,” enabling it to perform a credit card transaction.

SmartMetric is a USA based company with sales and marketing partnerships in Latin America, Europe the United Stated.

“Having spent years of research and development, SmartMetric has created what is considered to be one of the most advanced and leading-edge next generation credit card products in the credit card industry,” said SmartMetric President and CEO, Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric’s Biometric card addresses the multibillion existing chip-based credit card market.

The SmartMetric in-the-card fingerprint scanner allows for the card's chip to only work following a successful scan and match of the card user's fingerprint. Unlike other biometric cards, the SmartMetric card does not need the card user to go into a bank branch to have their fingerprint stored on their new biometric card. Uniquely, the SmartMetric Biometric Card allows the card user to enroll their fingerprint when they first receive it at home as simply as it is when enrolling your fingerprint on a smartphone.

“Touch and store technology developed by SmartMetric for its biometric card allows mass card issuing financial institutions to issue their cards direct to the consumers as they normally do, without the need for consumers to come into a bank branch to activate their new biometric card. No specialized fingerprint readers or storing of the fingerprint on an online system is needed with the SmartMetric solution. Everything is done on and inside the card itself,” said Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric’s founder Chaya Hendrick has licensed various issued patents she has invented, for use by SmartMetric. The company believes that the USA issued patents prohibit copycat companies from selling like products in the USA. Other patents internationally are now pending.

Source: SmartMetric media announcement