Lebanese Bank to Test Biometric Payment Cards

Credit Libanais, a Lebanese bank, will test a biometric payment card that will enable users to authorize contact-free payments by scanning their thumbprint, according to a Monday (Oct. 25) report from NFCW. The cards will be based on Zwipe’s Pay One technology.

Zwipe, a Norwegian startup, first launched its biometrics payment cards in 2016, as PYMNTS reported.

Read more: Zwipe’s Biometric Payment Cards to Launch in 2016

The company’s massive rollout of biometrics payment cards followed a 2014 partnership with Mastercard, which involved equipping contactless payment cards with a fingerprint sensor. The technology turns a user’s fingerprint into a PIN, which enables the cardholder to make contactless purchases. Data is housed directly on the card to help ensure better security.

Related news: MasterCard, Zwipe Put Touch on Contactless Cards

Banks and financial institutions (FIs) have been moving away from passwords, and are instead working to incorporate more secure verification methods, such as fingerprint scanning. This week, artificial intelligence (AI) identity verification company Jumio debuted a no-code orchestration layer for its KYX platform aimed at addressing identity proofing, compliance verification and anti-money laundering use cases, as PYMNTS reported. The advancement is intended to address security breaches and to protect personally identifiable information. Jumio uses government-issued identification, as well as other sources, to verify users’ identities.

Also see: Jumio Intros No-Code Orchestration Layer for KYX Platform

For 2021, as many as 18 billion transactions will be verified using biometrics authentication, according to PYMNTS.

In addition to Credit Libanais, Zwipe and Mastercard, Visa also supports biometric authentication. In June, the financial services company invested an undisclosed amount into LoginID, a multi-factor authentication company.

American Express, as well as tech giants like Microsoft and Google, support passwordless standards championed by the FIDO Alliance, which stands for Fast ID Online. Apple, Google and Microsoft have begun including biometrics verification into their offerings to boost security.

Despite the push for more secure identity verification methods, the FIDO Alliance found that 56% of 10,000 users polled in 10 countries used passwords to log into financial accounts, while one-third said they do not take any additional action to bolster their online security.

See also: FIDO Alliance: Passwords Still Used More Often Than More Secure Methods