UniCredit Rolls Out Biometric Payments

The technology is provided by Fujitsu and has been based on the company’s PalmSecure solution. With Fujitsu PalmSecure, a contactless scan of the palm vein pattern of a user’s hand is enough to confirm their identity, using biometrics that are more secure, harder to defraud and easier to use than traditional authentication methods, such as Chip & PIN.

There is no card, no key, not even a PIN. Customers will simply need to swipe their hands to prove their identity and authorize a payment. Fujitsu PalmSecure scans the unique pattern of veins within the palm. As veins are internal in the body and have a wealth of differentiating features resulting in high levels of certainty, attempts to forge an identity are virtually impossible.

However, all this happens without taking a photo or storing data. The sensor just “translates” the map into a unique numeric code. All you have to do is register and allow the system to convert the map of your hand into a series of numbers and from then on, every time you place your hand overthe sensor, Papillon will identify you. What’s more, the code cannot be converted back into the original map of the blood circulating in the hand.

In December 2012 UniCredit carried out the first of a series of proof-of-concept tests of its Papillon payment system, which is based on Fujitsu’s PalmSecure technology. The first payment was made by Federico Ghizzoni, CEO of UniCredit, at a KIKO MAKE UP MILANO retail store. Ghizzoni hovered his hand over a sensor and in a few seconds the reader recognized his hand and the payment was complete.

UniCredit plans to gradually introduce Papillon, primarily as a mobile payment mechanism and to complement other payment methods, such as QR-code reading. The Papillon may replace ATM and credit cards entirely as a way of recognizing individuals for payment purposes and the automatic debiting of current or credit card accounts, the bank believes.