Reference design covers biometric payment cards

Infineon Technologies AG and NEXT Biometrics have joined to develop a reference design for biometric payment cards. The reference platform incorporates all necessary elements to develop and manufacture a smart card with a fingerprint sensor and helps card makers to simplify their production processes and to shorten time-to-market for their offerings.

The use of biometrics for second-factor authentication is the next big thing in payment card innovation following signatures, embossing, magnetic stripe and secure chip technologies. Instead of entering a PIN or showing an ID, the cardholder authenticates by using a fingerprint sensor embedded on the card. The fingerprint information is stored on the card’s secure element and not shared with any third party, thereby protecting the user’s privacy. Fingerprint authentication is faster and easier than standard PIN-based EMV* transactions. It will also further reduce fraud, especially when multifunctional cards are deployed for personal social security payments.

The biometric card reference design includes a biometric module, a secure element, an operating system with biometric and payment applets, as well as a recommended and proven pre-lamination and lamination method for manufacturing the card. This complete system solution enables secure biometric smart card payment with significantly reduced false rejection rates to below one percent. The false rejection rate is a convenience feature that measures how often the fingerprint of the authorized user is reliably recognized and not incorrectly rejected.

As a turnkey solution, the reference platform that Infineon jointly developed with NEXT will drive biometric innovations in the smart card industry and help make digital transactions easier and safer. Customers have the tools they need to speed the implementation and deployment of biometric smart card technology.

The smart card reference design will be demonstrated by the two companies at the upcoming APSCA Digital Payments South Asia conference in Mumbai, India, 13-14 November 2018.