LG G8 ThinQ smartphone unveiled with hand vein authentication

LG’s latest flagship uses your hand veins to unlock — TechCrunch — “LG says the phone’s Hand ID tech is the first to use ‘advanced palm vein authentication’ — which could well be accurate… LG’s Hand ID identifies owners by recognising the shape, thickness and other individual characteristics of the veins in the palms of their hands.”




Liopa uses lip reading to add security to face recognition systems

Belfast tech startup using automated lip-reading to make user authentication systems more resistant to spoofing attacks — Liopa — “LipSecure works in conjunction with the vendor’s existing FR [facial recognition] system and prompts the user to repeat a random sequence of digits that appear on their screen. Liopa’s AI-based Visual Speech Recognition (VSR) technology checks if the digits have been spoken or mimed correctly and thus determines if there is a ‘live’ person present.”


EU sets out plans for contactless European identity cards

Better security for ID documents: Council Presidency and European Parliament reach provisional agreement — The Council of the European Union — “Under the proposed new rules, identity cards will have to be produced in a uniform, credit card format (ID-1), include a machine-readable zone, and follow the minimum security standards set out by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation). They will also need to include a photo and two fingerprints of the cardholder, stored in a digital format, on a contactless chip.”


Transit Ticketing Today

Delhi Metro to add biometrics to ticketing gates?

Biometric scans for discounted metro rides in Delhi — The Times of India — “In the new fare collection system, it will be possible to issue smart cards to individuals with their biometric data stored in them, ensuring that only they could use the card and not anyone else. Commuters, who will be provided concession on metro fares, need to get their finger scanned while entering or exiting a metro station, to ensure that only genuine commuters get the benefit of the concession.”


What's New in Payments

Kroger launches payments, offers and rewards app for iOS and Android

Kroger introduces Kroger Pay and Kroger Rewards debit card — The Kroger Co — “After a customer enters their custom PIN or biometrics, the app provides customers with a single-use QR code to scan at the terminal to quickly communicate payment and loyalty card information, which includes digital coupons and personalized offers… Kroger Pay recently launched in the retailer’s Columbus, Ohio division. The service will roll out to 10 additional markets in the spring, with plans to go nationwide later this year.”


What's New in Payments

CaixaBank rolls out facial recognition ATMs

CaixaBank, the world’s first bank to use facial recognition to withdraw cash at ATMs — CaixaBank — “CaixaBank has become the world’s first financial institution to offer its customers the ability to use facial recognition to withdraw cash from ATMs, without having to enter their PIN… CaixaBank now has this verification system in place in four Store branches in Barcelona, with a total of 20 terminals. The company plans to progressively expand facial recognition across its Store offices from the second half of 2019.”




Mobile World Congress visitors to use face recognition for entry

Comba Telecom providing face biometrics technology for venue access control at MWC19 — Biometric Update — “The facial recognition solution will be running through the whole event registration process from pre-event registration to on-site check-in during the show and will facilitate the registration process by allowing attendees to register and upload their photo on the organiser’s website before the event. After onsite passport/ID checking, attendees will be identified by the ScanViS ID system and can move through the event access lanes without having to show a badge or ID.”


Samsung to include a cryptocurrency key store in the Galaxy S10?

Samsung Blockchain KeyStore confirmed by Galaxy S10 leaked images — SamMobile — “The images show the Samsung Blockchain Keystore app running on the Galaxy S10. The splash page mentions that this app is a ‘secure and convenient place for your cryptocurrency’… There’s also going to be a relevant menu item for Blockchain KeyStore in the Settings app under the Biometrics and Security section. It mentions that the service lets users secure and manage their blockchain private key.”


What's New in Payments

Chinese shopping street adopts face recognition payments

China’s first facial recognition payment-based shopping street opens in Wenzhou — ECNS — “A historical shopping street in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, has become the first in China to extensively apply facial recognition in making payments… Mao Xinqin, director of the street’s administration, said facial recognition payments can improve efficiency during the peak season for tourism and shopping. Yang Peng, vice president of Ant Financial, said Alipay has upgraded the payment system using a 3D structured light camera and can ensure accuracy of 99.99%.”


What's New in Payments

Russian supermarket chain rolls out open loop fingerprint payments service

Sberbank and Azbuka Vkusa perfect fingerprint payment service — Sberbank — “After the quick registration process, which takes place at a checkout, clients tie two fingerprints to a Visa or Mastercard bank card and confirm the registration by coming up with a password. Payments can then be made at all stores with biometric POS terminals by scanning a fingerprint and confirming the transaction with the password. It is not necessary to use a bank card or a smartphone… The service is already available at 20 Azbuka Vkusa supermarkets, and will be added to more locations soon.”


What's New in Payments

Dejamobile reports on the development of a generic TEE solution for securing HCE mobile payment apps

'Securing HCE mobile payments with TEEs' white paper covershot

PARTNER NEWS: Card issuers could soon be able to more easily make use of trusted execution environments (TEEs) to add security to their HCE mobile payments apps, mobile transaction specialist Dejamobile explains in a new white paper which is now available to download free of charge from the NFCW Knowledge Centre... More


NFC World

Motiv to add NFC payments to its fitness ring

Motiv is bringing NFC-based payments to its fitness ring — Techcrunch — “Announced way back at CES 2016, Motiv’s fitness ring was surprisingly capable and accurate for its tiny form factor. Earlier this year, the startup promised to bring even more functionality to the finger, starting with biometric authentication that uses a wearer’s gait to unlock devices. This year at the show, the company’s got a handful of additional new features to show off. Most interesting among them is upcoming addition of mobile payments, via NFC.”


What's New in Payments

SiriusXM to offer Visa in-car payments to US auto makers

Visa and SiriusXM team up to fast track the future of in-vehicle commerce — Sirius XM Holdings — “The SiriusXM e-wallet is being designed to integrate into the dashboard and will allow drivers and their passengers to complete and make purchases for everyday tasks on-the-go: shop and pay for coffee, find and pre-pay for gas, locate and pay for parking, purchase movie tickets, seamlessly pay tolls, and more. Users will activate and authenticate payment with their Visa account using biometric authentication, like voice and touchscreen commands, to eliminate driver distractions during the transaction.”


Hyundai to let drivers unlock cars with their fingerprint

Hyundai Motor develops biometrics to open, lock and start car engine — Pulse — “The company claimed its system is the first of its kind in the world. It said there have already been fingerprint verification systems for starting the engine but applying the technology to open the door has remained a challenge. It said its fingerprint system was fortified to withstand harsh weather conditions like scorching sunlight and strong snowstorm, ensuring secure operation of its fingerprint door-locking system.”


UN agency to pilot biometric cards for migrants

International Organisation for Migration chooses Tactilis card for pilot programmes — Tactilis — “The pilot activities will evaluate the concepts, performance and viability of biometric system-on-card technology when deployed in three different migrant and foreign worker environments, namely visa card, cross border card and migrant camp card. There are close to 260m migrants globally, with 75m of those across Asia, many of whom are undocumented or displaced and require resettlement with trusted identity credentials.”


What's New in Payments

Tech firms to explore next gen payment cards that combine fingerprint sensors with digital displays

Idex Biometrics and Visionox collaborating to develop fingerprint sensors with integrated displays — Idex Biometrics — “By combining the fingerprint sensor with a display, the user experience and security can be significantly enhanced. The display can be used for a range of features including dynamic CVV to address card-not-present fraud, user-specific information such as account balance, or to provide feedback when enrolling the fingerprint. The technology will also be applicable to other verticals such as mobile or IoT.”