Card Firms Introduce FingPay
The Korean credit card industry is introducing the so-called FingPay, which allows users to pay for bills by putting their finger on the terminal.
Shinhan Card, BC Card, and Hana Card announced on June 10 that they would introduce FingPay, a non-media convenient payment system that uses finger vein authentication, in partnership with LG Hitachi and Nice Information & Telecommunication.
The finger vein authentication is a technique that uses finger vein patterns. Everyone has a different finger vein pattern which cannot be forged.
Especially, this new method has the advantage that you do not need to carry an existing payment means such as a credit card or a smart phone because the payment is made only by placing a finger on the terminal.
Since the size of the terminal, the recognition device, is small, it is easy to install it at the counter.
Currently, more than 80% of automated teller machines (ATMs) that use biometric authentication in Japan are using this technology.
Five companies, including Shinhan Card, will introduce FingPay into domestic franchise convenience stores and expand them to other franchise stores.
An official of Shinhan Card said, "The payment authentication method using finger veins are convenient and highly secure, so it will become a main authentication method in off-line easy payment using biometrics in the future."
Lotte Card, which introduced Hand Pay service, which uses palm vein for payment, in May last year, will also participate in FingPay.
Hand Pay is a bio-pay service that registers cardiovascular information on one’s palm in advance, and the card payment is completed when the palm is placed on the terminal at the time of payment.