IDEX Gets Another TrustedBio Order Amid ‘Increasing Demand’ From Biometric Payment Cards Customers

IDEX Biometrics has received another order for its TrustedBio fingerprint sensor solution, the company has announced.

The company shared few details about the order, identifying the client that placed it only as “an existing customer”. IDEX also disclosed that the order is expected to be fulfilled in the fourth quarter of this year.

IDEX first announced TrustedBio in early 2020. It’s a System-on-Chip solution aimed at enabling fingerprint scanning on biometric cards, with IDEX having emphasized its cost advantages in the manufacturing process. IDEX announced its first shipment of the solution that summer.

Earlier this year, IDEX moved into the mass production phase of the TrustedBio solution, with TSMC handling the production of the 40 nm TrustedBio ASIC, and a separate semiconductor packaging company completing the assembly of the module.

In late May, IDEX announced that it had received a volume order from an unnamed repeat customer that it described as “a global smart card integrator and manufacturer.”

While smart card integrations are certainly important, IDEX (and other fingerprint sensor solutions providers) have been eyeing considerable opportunities in the emergence of biometric payment cards, which are starting to be offered by major financial services providers. Fingerprint sensors can add critical security to contactless cards while maintaining the convenience of tap-to-pay transactions.

“IDEX continues to see increasing demand for its TrustedBio sensors for use in biometric payment cards,” the company explained in its statement. “As demand continues to increase, IDEX Biometrics is expecting additional production orders throughout second half of 2021 from both existing customers, and new customers who have not yet been announced.”

The latest order’s announcement comes just a couple of weeks after IDEX unveiled the next generation of its fingerprint sensor solution, dubbed “TrustedBio Max”. The fingerprint sensor solution is available for sampling, with IDEX aiming for mass production by the end of the third quarter of 2021.