Visa is piloting a new dual-interface biometric payment card with West Jordan, Utah-based Mountain America Credit Union and the Bank of Cyprus, according the card network.
The chip card will test whether fingerprint recognition is a viable alternative to PIN or signatures for authenticating cardholders during transactions. The card is enabled for contactless transactions.
“The world is quickly moving toward a future that will be free of passwords, as consumers realize how biometric technologies can make their lives easier,” Visa head of Global Merchant Solutions Jack Forestell said. “As electronic payments expand dramatically around the world, Visa is committed to developing and investing in emerging capabilities that deliver a better, more secure payment experience.”
To use the cards, members “enroll” their fingerprints, which are then stored on the card. When they make a purchase, they place their finders on the card's sensor. The sensor compares the print on the sensor to the one stored on the card, and a green or red light indicates whether the match is successful. The cards are compatible with existing EMV or contactless payment terminals, and the biometric sensor self-charges when the card is in the payment terminal.
The announcement follows a similar one from Gemalto, which launched fingerprint-based EMV cards earlier this month. Those cards also use fingerprints to authenticate at the point of sale.
Visa also announced in recent days that it would join other card networks and stop requiring signatures at checkout for credit or debit purchases in North America beginning in April 2018.
“Our focus is on continually evolving the market towards dynamic authentication methods such as EMV chip, as well as investing in emerging capabilities that leverage advanced analytics and biometrics,” Visa Vice President of Consumer Products Dan Sanford said. “We believe making the signature requirement optional for EMV chip-enabled merchants is the responsible next step to enhance security and convenience at the point of sale.”
The company said it has deployed more than 460 million EMV chip cards and chip-enabled readers in more than 2.5 million locations since 2011.
“Less than two years since EMV chip launched in the U.S., fraud declined 66% at EMV chip-enabled merchants,” Visa said.
Visa also recently launched a “wallet card” that looks like a regular card but is programmable and has the capacity to access multiple cards. There's also a cell phone chip and antenna that allows data to transfer between the wallet card and a bank.
Consumers appear to be cautiously open to biometrics today. A recent survey published by AYTM Market Research and Visa found that most consumers think biometric authentication is easier than using passwords, though many worry about how safe their fingerprints, faces, voices and even eye patterns are in today's digital world.
The survey of 1,000 consumers who use at least one credit card, debit card and/or mobile pay found that more than 65% of consumers know what biometrics are, and 65% have tried or regularly use fingerprint recognition. However, only 8% said there are no drawbacks to using biometric authentication for payments.
Mountain America Credit Union has $7 billion in assets and about 704,000 members.
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