Ingenico and Fujitsu launch palm vein-based payment solution

By Gloria Methri

French PayTech Ingenico has partnered with Fujitsu Frontech North America to launch a biometric payment solution based on palm vein identification. The innovation enables merchants to improve the check-out experience while minimizing fraud risks.

Designed on Ingenico’s AXIUM range, the solution enables contactless payments, reduces queues, and transforms in-store commerce. Customers can use the solution to identify themselves and authenticate payments by moving the palm of a hand over a near-infrared (NIR) sensor. The system eliminates the need to use a credit card or enter a PIN.

The contactless, and hygienic technology aims to accelerate the share of cashless and digital transactions in markets worldwide. It can also offer additional security levels for organisations requesting strong identification solutions. It leverages Fujitsu’s PalmSecure technology and incorporates biometric identification solutions developed by Fulcrum Biometrics.

To enroll consumers in the service, merchants first take a near-infra-red (NIR) scan of a customer’s palm using a device designed by Ingenico. The device incorporates the Fujitsu PalmSecure-F Pro Sensor and software and generates an encrypted, tokenized image that is linked to the customer’s payment card in Ingenico’s secure cloud environment.

In contrast to facial recognition and fingerprints, hackers cannot take close-up pictures of internal palm vein structures to make fraudulent transactions.

Michel Léger, Senior Executive Vice-President Global Solutions Development at Ingenico, said, “Palm vein identification is a much faster way of making payments than traditional chip and pin and offers several tangible advantages, with none of the security risks of other biometric methods. We are seeing a lot of interest from merchants in the solution that we have developed with Fujitsu Frontech North America and Fulcrum Biometrics. This partnership is set to transform and revolutionize payment experiences for consumers.”

Shuhei Oyake, President and CEO of Fujitsu Frontech North America added, “Our palm vein technology provides the most advanced consumer protection available in any biometric modality. Our patented technology for matching palm vein templates without needing to decrypt them means that there is never a time when your unencrypted biometric could be compromised. Fujitsu Frontech North America and Ingenico together will deliver merchants and consumers a long-awaited solution for frictionless and secure payments.”