Clear partners with Seattle Seahawks, Sounders FC, & Mariners to launch biometrics payment & ID check initiative — Clear — “With approval from the State of Washington to replace a traditional ID check with biometric powered age validation, Clear members at CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field can buy food and drinks, and simultaneously prove that they are of legal age for alcohol purchases — all with just their fingerprints.”
Biometrics
Google releases Android 9 Pie with added NFC, secure element, TEE and biometric security
Google has begun rolling out Android 9 ‘Pie’, the latest version of its mobile operating system which includes support for GlobalPlatform’s Open Mobile API, a new BiometricPrompt API, and added NFC and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) security techniques... More
Japanese carrier KDDI to pilot blockchain coupons that shoppers can redeem using biometrics in stores
KDDI and Hitachi pilot finger vein biometrics for redeeming coupons in stores — KDDI (translation) — “The user can authenticate himself by holding the finger registered on the authentication infrastructure, so it is not necessary to present the coupon at the store, and the coupon can be used even without the smartphone… Since coupon usage information recorded in the blockchain is extremely difficult to tamper with, it is easy to share coupon usage history securely and reliably between KDDI and affiliated stores, and payment according to the number of coupon users is highly accurate.”
Major League Baseball stadiums to introduce biometric payments and ticketing
No more tickets? MLB fans will soon use fingerprints, facial recognition instead — Fox Business — “A tap of the finger will soon replace traditional tickets at baseball stadiums across the country… A pilot program will arrive at select venues later this season… The platform will expand to point-of-sale systems and possibly more teams… Fans will be able to pay for food and validate their age for alcohol purchases using their fingerprint.”
Marriott to let Chinese guests use face recognition to check in to its hotels
Joint venture of Alibaba Group and Marriott International trials facial recognition check-in technology — Marriott International — “The pilot will kick off from July 2018 at two Marriott International properties in China — Hangzhou Marriott Hotel Qianjiang and Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay, with the goal of global rollout across Marriott International’s properties in the future… Chinese guests simply need to scan their IDs, take a photo and input contact details on a self-help machine. The intelligent device will then dispense room key cards after identities and booking information are verified.”
Palm vein biometric payments to be pilot tested in Japanese convenience stores
Aeon and Fujitsu launch field trial of cardless payments using biometric authentication technology — Fujitsu — “Aeon Credit Service and Fujitsu will begin a field trial of a cardless payment system using Fujitsu’s palm vein biometric authentication technology. Starting in September 2018, the trial will take place in selected Ministop convenience stores. This initiative will be Japan’s first example of palm vein authentication-type cardless payments at actual retail stores.”
Russian banks begin rollout of national biometric identity system
Russia’s multi-bank remote customer identification facility, which has been in beta testing since early 2018, has launched with Know Your Customer (KYC) enrolment points now working at more than 400 banks in 140 cities... More
Chinese university pilots face recognition for campus access control
Peking University installs facial recognition system for students and staff on campus gate — South China Morning Post — “Anyone going through the southwestern gate of prestigious Peking University can now have their face scanned by a camera instead of showing their ID card to security guards under a trial run of the system that started on Wednesday… It is not the university’s first use of the technology on campus — it has already installed about two dozen facial recognition devices outside some of its libraries, classrooms, student dormitories, gymnasiums and computer centres.”
SPA white paper examines the potential of bank cards with built-in biometric sensors
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: Biometric sensor-on-card solutions, where a fingerprint sensor is built into a standard EMV card, “represent an important step forward for the finance industry, opening the way to eliminating fraud for issuers and cardholders, reducing costs and providing the additional security and identity verification required to support remote or cross-border transactions,” the authors of a new white paper conclude... More
Google explains how its BiometricPrompt API will work
Better biometrics in Android P — Google — “Starting in Android P, developers can use the BiometricPrompt API to integrate biometric authentication into their apps in a device and biometric agnostic way… A support library is also provided for devices running Android O and earlier, allowing applications to utilize the advantages of this API across more devices.”
Beijing metro looks to biometrics to speed up payments at turnstiles
Beijing subways to get bio-ID system — China Daily — “Two bio-recognition technologies — facial recognition and palm touch — are being considered, said Zhang Huabing, head of enterprise development for Beijing Subway… Facial recognition technology can track passenger movements with cameras connected to online networks that recognize people when they enter a station, potentially allowing them to bypass traditional ticketing.”
Korean credit card issuers to roll out biometric payments at convenience stores
Credit card companies to launch ‘finger vein’ payment system — The Korea Times — “Three major card companies — Shinhan, BC, and Hana Card — announced on Sunday that were developing a biometrics payment system that authorizes transactions by scanning fingertips… The companies said the payment method would be available at convenience store chains across the country in October.”
SocGen lets customers open a bank account on their mobile phone
Société Générale and Idemia revolutionize remote account opening — Idemia — “For the first time in France, a bank offers new clients to open accounts remotely without a mandatory transfer, by using Idemia’s facial biometric recognition technology, with a dynamic selfie in order to identify the future client.”
Mastercard to pilot cardless ATM withdrawals
It’s app, tap and go at ATMs thanks to Mastercard and Diebold Nixdorf — Mastercard — “Here’s how it works: Consumers open their bank’s app on their smartphone. They use the app to find nearby ATMs, choose the amount they want to withdraw and see the associated fees. Once at the ATM, they quickly snap or tap, often by scanning a QR code, authenticate using optional biometrics on device, and take the dispensed cash.”
Researchers combine fingerprint and vein verification in single sensor
Why your smartphone may soon start scanning your veins — Edith Cowan University — “The new technology involves a single sensor that combines image data (vein) and minutiae-based data (fingerprint) to improve recognition exponentially. These different extraction approaches add complexity for anyone attempting to duplicate the system.”
Apple patents face vein identification system
Vein imaging using detection of pulsed radiation — USPTO — “Vein identification systems that are known in the art transmit infrared illumination through the user’s hand, and capture a resulting image in which the veins within the hand appear as dark or bright lines due to variations in the captured infrared intensity… In the disclosed embodiments, an optical transmitter, such as a laser, emits a pulse or sequence of pulses of infrared radiation toward an area containing a body surface of a living subject, such as the skin of the subject’s face.”
National Bank to pilot biometric payment cards in Kuwait
National Bank of Kuwait and Mastercard make GCC debut of pioneering biometric solutions — Zawya — “NBK customers will be the first in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region to experience Mastercard’s Identity Check online authentication solution, while a pilot program for an innovative biometric card with an embedded fingerprint sensor will be a first for the GCC.”
Google includes biometric prompt API in Android P
What’s new in Android P Beta — Google — “Apps can use the new BiometricPrompt API instead of displaying their own biometric auth dialogs… In addition to supporting fingerprints (including in-display sensors), it also supports face and iris authentication, providing a system-wide consistent experience.”
FNB to roll out biometric ATMs that customers can use to open a bank account
Biometric ATMs extend banking services — IT-Online — “The TouchPoint validates a customer’s identity by scanning a fingerprint placed on the biometric reader and it can detect false fingerprints to prevent fraud. The identity of the customer is then verified with the Department of Home Affairs to ensure the self-service account opening complies with the relevant laws.”
GlobalPlatform adds biometric security APIs
GlobalPlatform secures biometric authentication and enriches trusted user interaction — GlobalPlatform — “These new APIs enable trusted applications to leverage the device’s biometric sensors, while staying fully isolated from the device OS… Service providers and application developers now have a direct path to provide users with a richer and safer authentication experience and, importantly, to offer trusted biometric authentication that is secured in the hardware of the device’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).”