Mastercard has teamed up with IDEMIA, a global leader in Augmented Identity, and MatchMove, a Singapore-based fintech, to develop a card that will allow fingerprint authorization at in-store payment terminals in Asia, in a bid to enhance the safety and security of contactless transactions.
The card, with the product name F.CODE Easy, is developed by IDEMIA in accordance with Mastercard’s technical and design specifications to provide costumers with seamless and intuitive experience of biometric authentication from a smartphone to a smart card.
It makes transactions more convenient, safe and secure by eliminating the need for a cardholder to provide a PIN number or signature, thereby reducing touch points in public places.
F.CODE Easy ensures privacy and security by storing all biometric credentials on the card chip rather than a central database. The battery-free card, which harvests energy from payment terminals to power its fingerprint sensor, is designed to be user-friendly and is certified to ISO standards by Mastercard for security and compliance.
“As people make a permanent move to contactless transactions, the biometric card promises more choice and greater security for consumers,” said Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “With Mastercard’s focus on digital commerce, this solution is a testament to the innovative partnerships Mastercard cultivates and its mission to provide fast, frictionless payment experiences that are protected at every point.”
“We are proud to celebrate this milestone on our journey to shaping the future of payments into one powered by biometrics,” said Vincent Mouret, Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions Asia Pacific at IDEMIA. “We are delighted to partner with Mastercard and MatchMove to launch F.CODE Easy in Asia and we look forward to continuing to work together to provide end-to-end security for fintechs.”
“We are excited to partner with IDEMIA and Mastercard to pioneer cutting-edge solutions that empower our customers to make safe and secure payments,” said Amar Abrol, Chief Commercial Officer at MatchMove. “By leveraging F.CODE Easy, we can enable multiple use cases for our clients who in turn create greater value and utility for their customers, employees, suppliers and partners. We look forward to working together and introducing new innovative solutions to the market”.
MatchMove, a Banking as a Service provider in Singapore, will issue the biometric cards for the pilot in the fourth quarter of this year. The pilot will feature employees of Mastercard, IDEMIA and MatchMove using the cards for transactions and live demonstrations for customers.
To support the onboarding process for F.CODE Easy, IDEMIA will provide a full set of services to MatchMove that allow users to enroll in their own homes for maximum convenience.
