
Spanish deal for fingerprint-activated credit card
SmartMetric in the US has developed a long term power technique that allows a biometric fingerprint scanner in a credit card. The company has teamed with RedSys in Madrid, Spain, to use the card in its Advantis credit and debit card chip and chip operating system.
The Redsys Advantis credit and debit card chip is used by some of the world’s largest global banks. Over 500 banking organizations have issued more than 1.4 billion cards with the Advantis chip and operating system which can now offer a fingerprint-protected card as a result of the embedded power system.
“This is an important breakthrough for the company, allowing for our biometric credit card to be always powered, even if it hasn’t been used for days, weeks, months or even years,” said Chaya Hendrick, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based SmartMetric.
The biometric card has a fingerprint scanner built in that scans a person’s fingerprint when the fingerprint sensor is touched on the card’s surface. The fingerprint scan is done in less than 0.25 seconds. This provides a biometric scan, match and card activation in less time than it takes the card holder to reach across to insert their card in a card reader. This can be used for financial transactions in an ATM or for medical records.
The fingerprint scan to activate the card is powered by the card’s internal battery, but when the card is inserted into the reader the internal battery is rapidly recharged while performing the transaction in the reader. This keeps the card operatig for up to nine years, says Hendrick.
“Having spent more than a decade on research and development, SmartMetric has developed what is arguably the most advanced biometric card product available today,” said Hendrick.
