Is Fingerprinting Next For Credit Card Security?

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Miniature fingerprint scanners inside credit cards could satisfy bank concerns about card fraud.

As the debate over the value of EMV cards in fighting credit card fraud rages on following the implementation of the liability shift last October, one company is urging the addition of a new level of biometric security to some cards. SmartMetric is reportedly in talks with a number of card issuers to adopt miniature fingerprint scanners inside credit cards that conform to ISO standards and could satisfy bank concerns about card fraud.

According to SmartMetric, 80 percent of credit card holders express concern about card and identity fraud, and 66 percent of them would pay for a safer, biometric secured credit card with a built-in fingerprint reader if it could guarantee their security.

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

The SmartMetric fingerprint solution is the only biometric card in the world that can be used across all card reader platforms including ATM's while conforming to ISO and banking industry standards. The fingerprint reader scans a card user’s fingerprint, and once it is validated, the card is activated.

Since launching in April, SmartMetric is now actively engaged in talks with credit card issuing Banks around the world. These Banks 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.