IDEX Licenses Biometric Enrollment Tech to Chinese Card Maker

IDEX Biometrics has sealed a licensing deal with one of its prominent APAC partners. The company has announced that Chutian Dragon has purchased a license for the use of IDEX’s biometric enrollment technology for biometric cards.

IDEX first teamed up with Chutian Dragon last November. Chutian Dragon is a major China-based card maker certified by Amex, China UnionPay, JCB, Mastercard, and Visa; and in announcing the strategic partnership at the time, IDEX placed Chutian Dragon’s production capacity at up to 700 million units per year, suggesting it could become an important ally in bringing IDEX’s fingerprint sensor technology to the region’s card market.

Now, Chutian Dragon has signed onto a royalty-bearing agreement allowing it to leverage IDEX’s on-card enrollment technology in order to produce “on-card enrollment devices,” according to a statement announcing the deal. IDEX’s biometric enrollment system is based on the use of a lightweight receptacle into which a payment card (or other smart card) can be inserted for user registration. At the time, the user is prompted to scan their fingerprint on the card, with the electronic receptacle establishing a link between the user’s biometrics and the card; from there, the card can authenticate that user – and only that user – for any subsequent transactions.

News of the deal with Chutian Dragon comes just a week after IDEX’s announcement of a similar licensing agreement with IDEMIA; and in its announcement, IDEX indicated that “Further license agreements are anticipated over time.”

The deal’s announcement also comes after IDEX and Chutian Dragon revealed plans to collaborate with PAX Technology Limited on biometric payment terminals and related software earlier this year, suggesting the Chutian Dragon has become an increasingly important strategic partner since it first teamed up with IDEX less than a year ago.

“I’m delighted that IDEX is extending its relationship with Chutian Dragon through this license agreement,” commented IDEX Biometrics CEO Stan Swearingen, adding that the biometric enrollment system covered in the agreement “is destined to grow in popularity and help bring biometric smart cards into mainstream use.”