Mastercard has partnered with IDEMIA and MatchMove for its first pilot in Asia of a biometric card that uses a fingerprint to authorise transactions at in-store payment terminals. The card, with the product name F.CODE Easy, is said to make transactions more convenient, safe and secure by eliminating the need for a cardholder to provide a PIN number or signature, thereby reducing touch points in public places.
Developed by IDEMIA in accordance with Mastercard’s technical and design specifications, F.CODE Easy stores all biometric credentials on the card chip rather than a central database. The battery-free card, which harvests energy from payment terminals to power its fingerprint sensor, is designed to be user-friendly and is certified to ISO standards by Mastercard for security and compliance.
MatchMove, a Banking as a Service provider in Singapore, will issue the biometric cards for the pilot in the fourth quarter of 2020. The pilot will feature employees of Mastercard, IDEMIA and MatchMove using the cards for transactions and live demonstrations for customers.
“As people make a permanent move to contactless transactions, the biometric card promises more choice and greater security for consumers,” said Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “With Mastercard’s focus on digital commerce, this solution is a testament to the innovative partnerships Mastercard cultivates and its mission to provide fast, frictionless payment experiences that are protected at every point.”
“We are proud to celebrate this milestone on our journey to shaping the future of payments into one powered by biometrics,” said Vincent Mouret, Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions Asia Pacific at IDEMIA. “We are delighted to partner with Mastercard and MatchMove to launch F.CODE Easy in Asia and we look forward to continuing to work together to provide end-to-end security for fintechs.”
“We are excited to partner with IDEMIA and Mastercard to pioneer cutting-edge solutions that empower our customers to make safe and secure payments,” said Amar Abrol, Chief Commercial Officer at MatchMove. “By leveraging F.CODE Easy, we can enable multiple use cases for our clients who in turn create greater value and utility for their customers, employees, suppliers and partners. We look forward to working together and introducing new innovative solutions to the market.”
