Infineon Technologies and Fingerprint Cards have collaborated to drive mass deployment of biometric payment cards. The contactless cards are in-built with a fingerprint sensor to make contactless payments more convenient, secure, and hygienic. Throughout the entire payment transaction, the contactless card remains in the hands of the cardholder; thus, any PIN entries or signatures that are needed to permit high-value transactions get eliminated.

The world’s leading security controllers in contactless payment and fingerprint sensors, including their related software, aim to provide biometric semiconductor solutions to card makers that make integration particularly cost-effective and scalable. The fingerprint information is captured on the card’s embedded secure element and not shared with any third party to protect the credentials of users.

“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 the 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, Senior Vice President, Head of Busines Line Payments and amp; Access at Fingerprints.

The sensor modules of the Fingerprints, integrated with Infineon’s 40 nm high-performance and energy-efficient security controllers based on the 32-bit ARM SC300TM SecurCore, completely meet biometric payment card specifications. The cards support the following functionalities:

  • Secure installation of the fingerprint image inside the security controller, where the private data is stored securely
  • Excellent contactless results despite the required increased power
  • Practical and secure authentication of sensitive biometric data in the card

Nearly every second worldwide payment card with a chip has an Infineon security controller at its heart. Infineon also provides chip systems for large ventures and pilots with biometric cards in 2020.