FPC and Infineon Team Up to Make Biometric Cards More Cost-Effective

“The partnership was forged with an eye towards the mass adoption of biometric payment cards.”

Fingerprint Cards (FPC) is the latest fingerprint specialist to partner with Infineon. The two companies will work together to create secure semiconductor solutions that will make it easier (and cheaper) for card manufacturers to develop biometric payment cards.

The joint solution will combine FPC’s fingerprint sensors with Infineon’s 40 nm security controllers, which are in turn based on the 32-bit ARM SC300 SecurCore. The user’s biometric data will be stored on that secure element, while the fingerprint match will be processed there when the owner places their finger on the card to verify a transaction. The technology will allow card holders to enroll their biometric data directly to the card, so the personal information on the secure element is never shared with any other party.

The partnership was forged with an eye towards the mass adoption of biometric payment cards. Infineon’s energy-efficient security controllers will improve overall contactless performance, and make it easier to manufacture and distribute biometric cards at scale.

“Authorizing payments without handing over the card is a huge step forward in terms of user experience, data security and hygiene,” said Infineon Head of Payment and Transport Ticketing Products Bjoern Scharfen. “We want to drive the industrialization of biometric payment cards from a niche into mass market rollout. We will develop a solution that is easy to integrate and gives our customers a head start in an emerging growth market.”

“We will put these cards into the hands of consumers around the world to enable a worry-free payment experience,” added FPC Business Line Payments and Access SVP Michel Roig.

Infineon technology has already appeared in several biometric card pilots, while the company itself has previously teamed up with Zwipe, NEXT Biometrics, and IDEX Biometrics. Like FPC, all three are currently working towards the commercialization of biometric payment cards.

FPC, meanwhile, recently teamed with STMicroelectronics to develop a Biometric System-on-Chip platform for the financial industry. The company has repeatedly advocated for the use of contactless payment technology in response to COVID-19.