Finger Welcome to Linger

13 November 2015 | Updated 01 January 1970

Visa Europe Collab, the innovation arm of Visa Europe, is working with biometrics startup, Sthaler and global payments company, Worldpay to trial the use of Sthaler’s Fingopay finger vein technology (FVT) in payments.

Worldpay employees are taking part in a three-week proof of concept at workplace restaurant The Hub – run by hospitality provider Bennett Hay – at Worldpay’s London headquarters. The aim is to test the feasibility and value of Sthaler’s Fingopay as a payment solution in a high volume transaction retail environment.

Employees taking part in the trial will be able to register their Visa credit or debit card to their finger vein template which is encrypted and stored ‘securely’. When paying for an item in the staff restaurant, authentication will occur via the use of a FVT reader referenced against tokenised biometric data at the point of sale – with no card required.

Finger vein pattern is claimed to be an advanced biometric factor which unlike other physical characteristics, cannot be scanned without the knowledge of the individual or left for duplication as it is non-latent.

Sthaler reports it has further improved Vein ID to produce Fingopay, a cloud based cardholder identification option that secures payments designed to benefit both the merchant and customer.

“By testing this technology in a controlled environment, we hope to better understand the practicality, usability and ultimately, the commercial potential for its implementation,” explained Mike Philpotts, Innovation Partner – Authentication, Visa Europe Collab.

The Proof of Concept is taking place at Worldpay’s London headquarters between 2-23 November 2015.

Picture: Sthaler’s Fingopay finger vein technology is currently being tested to prove it is a secure method of payment

Article written by Robin Snow | Published 13 November 2015