Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Information Architects Corp., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based provider of Web-based employee-screening technology, has announced it is entering the market for electronic point-of-sale transactions secured by cardholders' fingerprints. The company says it has acquired a U.S. patent (6,270,011 B1) that covers a fingerprint-scanning methodology for credit cards via scanners deployed at the point of sale. The methodology calls for fingerprint templates to be stored in card issuers' databases for reference against finger scans conducted at the time of purchase, and provides for prints to be sent according to a security algorithm. In this way, the company says, the data can be sent via IP networks and conventional leased lines. The company says it plans to conduct a beta test of the technology in conjunction with International Monetary Exchange Systems, which specializes in payroll cards. Separately, Biometric Access Corp., Round Rock, Tex., has announced it is expanding the integration of its fingerprint-scanning technology with point-of-sale systems from IBM Corp., the leading supplier of retail check-out systems. With this integration, BAC's SecureTouch-n-Pay system has been linked to IBM's SurePOS ACE application for the point of sale, the company says, building on a partnership that began two years ago. BAC has installed its biometric authentication system at 130 stores, mostly those of the Kroger Co. supermarket chain. The system supports both in-lane purchases and payroll-check-cashing functions. With these developments, the market for biometric-based transaction security at the point of sale continues to pick up steam. In recent months Pay By Touch, San Francisco, has recapitalized, installed new management, and reached its own marketing and technology agreements with both IBM and Accenture. And BioPay Inc., Herndon, Va., has signed up the BI-LO LLC grocery chain for the country's largest payroll-check-cashing program authenticated by fingerprint scans.
