Two Japanese financial services companies have contracted Daon, together with NTT Data Corporation, to develop multimodal biometric authentication platforms. The agreements aim to have such systems go live for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in the spring of next year.

SMFG plans to use Daon’s IdentityX Platform, which has attracted substantial interest in the financial services and FinTech communities with its mobile-ready biometric functionality. In a statement announcing the deals, Daon indicated that SMFG is aiming to use the technology “to offer a seamless environment for accessing various services” by linking biometrics to account information. Daon also suggested that SMBC’s role will be to leverage its own expertise in security, particularly with respect ATMs, while NTT Data will take care of the online services aspect of the platform.

It’s a project that could expand considerably. The four companies are considering setting up a joint venture to carry it out, and the authentication will be used not only by SMFG but also by NTT Data and possibly other financial services companies and online merchants. Furthermore, Daon says that the companies “plan to look into expanding this service globally” after it launches in Japan.

(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)