Biometrics

Momentum is building for Fido, an open security authentication concept that aims to allow users to replace passwords with a range of authentication methods, including NFC and biometrics. Both Google and NXP have now signed up to the project, alongside founder members that include PayPal and Lenovo. More

Point-of-sale terminal maker Ingenico has introduced a range of mobile payments terminals that include NFC and biometric verification. The iWB Bio Series devices are aimed at governments and financial institutions distributing payments services in emerging... More

Reports from Taiwan suggest that local firm Chipbond has won a major contract from Apple to build components for a forthcoming iPhone 5S. "iPhone 5S will also feature NFC (near field communication) fingerprint recognition technology,... More

In the December edition of Mobile Wallet Outlook, the NFC World team examines the resurgence of interest in using fingerprint verification at the point of sale, the innovative new services being built on top of Apple's Passbook mobile wallet and the latest consumer adoption surveys. Our first "spot report" takes an in-depth look at PayPal's digital wallet and in-store payments strategy and asks whether the online payments giant can succeed in crossing the online-offline divide. More

The NFC World team has identified ten pressure points that suggest the arrival of mobile payments will result in a fundamental change in the overall cost of processing payments and the way in which merchants transaction fees are calculated — and we'd like to hear from anyone who is working on ways to use mobile technology to cut the cost of processing transactions at the point of sale. More

Biometric authentication specialist Fingerprint Cards (FPC) has announced it has integrated its fingerprint verification algorithm and swipe sensor technology into Infineon's embedded secure element chip. "FPC's solution is uniquely positioned to work in a secure... More

HID Global has added a reader module and a developer tool kit (DTK) for its iClass SE secure credentials platform. "Our new reader module enables third-party developers to build a broad range of products that... More

There's no mention of NFC in the list of hardware improvements announced for the new iPhone 5 today, and there was only a very brief mention of the Passbook mobile wallet feature which was announced... More

Examination of a proxy statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission by Authentec, linked to Apple's recent bid to acquire the firm for US$356m, has led to renewed speculation that the next iPhone... More

Lenovo has announced the ThinkPad Tablet 2 for Windows 8 a 10.1-inch touchscreen device which will come with both NFC and a fingerprint biometrics reader. The tablet PC "will be available when Windows 8 launches... More

NFC payments are five to ten years away from mainstream adoption and on the crossover between the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations' and the 'Trough of Disillusionment', according to this year's Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. NFC as a whole is expected to hit the mainstream more quickly, but is still two to five years away from maturity. More

The company's products include a fingerprint sensor for NFC mobile phones that ensures only the registered user of a device can gain access to their mobile wallet. More

The mobile device hardware security market will be worth US$1.9bn by 2017, up from US$430m in 2012, according to a new report by ABI Research. The Mobile Device Security study looks at the market for... More

Google CEO Larry Page has taken to the search giant's blog to announce the completion of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility — and obliquely mentioned NFC's key role in Google's plans for the future. "It's... More

A new fingerprint sensor from Authentec is now being designed into a number of new devices so that NFC phone users can add an extra layer of protection to their mobile wallets, the company says. More

Motorola is to use fingerprint biometrics in future NFC handsets to eliminate PIN locks on mobile wallets. The Google-owned phone maker, which already builds handsets with built-in finger scanners, told Brief Mobile of the move... More

Phone maker Sony has applied for a patent which could see fingerprint sensors and cameras built into mobile phone screens. "Many technology analysts predict that mobile phones fitted with near field communication (NFC) technology will... More

Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu is to introduce a wide range of smartphones and tablets with both NFC and biometric security capabilities, according to a Financial Times report. The company is an established phone manufacturer in... More

A survey has found that French consumers are more interested in the idea of using their fingerprint to identify themselves when making a payment than in using a mobile phone for the purpose. 69% of... More

A concept NFC medical monitoring device has won an iF product design award. "MiniME connects biometric sensors placed on the body to track health stats using RFID and near field communication," MD+DI reports. "It measures... More