Miniature Fingerprint Scanners May Be The Solution To $16 Billion In Fraud

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Retailers may soon see up to one million cards in stores soon.

Credit card fraud worldwide losses incurred by card issuers, merchants, and acquirers totaled $16.31 billion in 2014, a 19 percent increase over 2013, according to figures released by the Nilson Report. It also marked the fourth consecutive year that total card volume was outpaced by fraud losses.  SmartMetric president and CEO Chaya Hendrick asserted that the answer is a safer payments solution that incorporates biometrics into the security of transaction payment information.

SmartMetric is the creator of the biometric fingerprint activated credit and debit card, and the payments card solution works with existing chip card readers and ATMs with no additional hardware or system requirements. Using biometrics for authentication may be the next big step for payment solutions systems.

“What amazes so many banks and credit card issuers is the fact that we have embedded a fully functional miniature fingerprint scanner inside a credit card while conforming to industry standards regarding card size and thickness. And, the Banks are able to issue our biometric cards without having to change any existing chip card readers or ATM's,” stated Hendrick in an email.

With a built in fingerprint reader, the card is activated when the registered user swipes his or her finger over the sensor on the card. This multi-level authentication means that unauthorized use of the card is now highly unlikely.

While biometrics are not a new concept for authentication and identity purposes, SmartMetric is the only biometric card in the world that can be used across card reader platforms including ATM's while conforming to ISO and banking industry standards. Business Solutions Magazine examined the possibilities of biometrics for payments solutions last year, including fingerprints; face recognition, DNA, and iris recognition.

And recently, some payments experts and players have started to test whether biometrics could be useful for more than just mobile payments. In late 2015, Visa announced that it would start using biometrics on chip cards at some Absa Bank ATMs in South Africa. The idea is for consumers to verify their identities while the card's chip completes the transaction.

SmartMetric is now actively engaged in talks with credit card issuing Banks around the world who fully expect the biometric fingerprint protected card to satisfy customer concerns about card fraud, while at the same time mitigating their own card fraud losses.

SmartMetric specializes in miniature electronic systems and software for use in Biometric identification and validation. Hardware and software engineering are done internally. The Company can deliver unique and cutting edge enterprise-class products to the Payments industry, as well as Corporate and Government sectors.

The new cards would help retailers reduce fraud without requiring any new investments in terms of hardware or software, creating a “win/win” situation for merchants, card issuers, and consumers alike.