A new post on the IDEX Biometrics blog details some of the benefits (and drawbacks) of different kinds of fingerprint sensors. The post specifically compares the smaller sensors often found in smartphones to the wider sensors recommended for biometric payment cards.

The biggest difference is the relative accuracy of different models. A wider sensor is able to collect more data points, which makes the reading more complete and accurate. A smaller sensor, on the other hand, gathers fewer data points, raising the possibility of a false positive if two partial prints prove to be a match.

Despite the risks, a smaller sensor is a reasonable choice for a smartphone because space is at a premium and a processor can fill in some of the gaps of a partial dataset. However, biometric smart cards don’t have access to that kind of computational power. What’s more, the results are still not as accurate as they would be for a wider sensor, making a small sensor an insufficient security measure for highly sensitive information like bank account data.

The takeaway is that different devices have different security requirements for their biometric components. IDEX, of course, is primarily focused on biometric payment cards, and has recently been expanding its foothold in the Asian region. The company has formed new card-oriented partnerships with TMC and Sian Intelligent Technology in the past month alone.

IDEX Senior VP David Orme discussed the company’s continued growth in an interview with FindBiometrics at last week’s Money 20/20 Europe event in Amsterdam.

(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)