Infineon and Fingerprint Cards partner to enable mass deployment of biometric payment cards

Biometric payment cards with an integrated fingerprint sensor make contactless payments more convenient, more secure and hygienic. The contactless card remains in the hands of the cardholder throughout the entire payment transaction, while eliminating the need for PIN entries or signatures to authorize even high-value payments.

Infineon Technologies and Fingerprint Cards have joined forces to enable mass deployment of this emerging solution.

The world leaders for security controller in contactless payment and for fingerprint sensors, including their related software, aim to provide card makers with biometric semiconductor solutions which make integration particularly cost-efficient and scalable.

The fingerprint information is stored on the card’s embedded secure element and not shared with any third party, thus protecting the user’s credentials.

“Authorizing payments without handing over the card is a huge step forward in terms of user experience, data security and hygiene. We selected Fingerprints as they are the leading biometric silicon and technology provider with market proven performance. Jointly, we want to drive the industrialization of biometric payment cards from a niche into mass market rollout,” said Bjoern Scharfen, Head of the Payment and Transport Ticketing product line at Infineon.

“Combining Fingerprints’ leading biometric technology with our expertise in chip security, energy efficiency and contactless performance, we will develop a system solution that is easy to integrate and gives our customers a head start in an emerging growth market.”

“Collaboration is key in the payment ecosystem, in which Infineon is a leading player. Together we will produce an optimized solution that will make it easier for card manufacturers to integrate biometrics into future generations of contactless payment cards, ultimately putting these cards into the hands of consumers around the world to enable a worry-free payment experience,” says Michel Roig, SVP Business Line Payments & Access at Fingerprints.

Fingerprints’ sensor modules, combined with Infineon’s 40 nm high-performance and energy-efficient security controllers based on the 32-bit ARM SecurCore, fully support the requirements of biometric payment cards. They enable:

• Secured matching of the fingerprint image within the security controller where the private data is securely stored
• Excellent contactless performance despite the increased power required
• Convenient and reliable enrollment of sensitive biometric data in the card

Almost every second payment card with a chip worldwide has an Infineon security controller at its core. Infineon also supplied chip solutions for major biometric card projects and pilots in 2020.