The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008 - (Page 20)

PAYMENTS April 15 · 2008 - 20 Biometric Update: Keep Your Shirt On Staff Report You did not need the credit card, or any other identification, which led the enthusiastic manager to declare, “You can shop NAKED!” Systems Dropping In Popularity Pay By Touch Dies It turns out that most people apparently prefer to shop clothed, because the parent of Pay By Touch, Solidus Networks, experienced financial difficulties shortly after acquiring Pay By Touch in 2006. Solidus decided, in late 2007, to sell several businesses, including BioPay Paycheck Secure, to Phoenix Check Cashing, Inc., a company formed by the management team and investors. The financing for the acquisition was provided by WWC Capital Group, of Reston, Virginia and Woodbrook Capital of Baltimore, Maryland. On December 14, 2007, Solidus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. BioPay expressed enthusiasm in a press release dated March 5, 2008. “We are very excited about re-energizing this business,” said Jon Dorsey, CEO of BioPay Paycheck Secure. “We look forward to leveraging the product’s legacy as the market-leader in finger print authentication of check cashing transactions. This is a great product that now has the resources to deliver on its full potential.” Just two weeks later, on March 19, 2008, Solidus Networks announced that it would no longer process biometric transactions on behalf of its merchant customers and consumer membership base. The announcement was sent on the afternoon of March 19, with the cessation effective at midnight. The company said that as part of the company’s restructuring, the enterprise could no longer support the biometric authentication and payment system as it currently exists. The announcement said the determination was based on lack of funding and current market conditions. Alternative Technologies There are other systems in various stages, utilizing other forms of biometric identification. One promising technology, offered by several companies, involves reading the iris of the customer. It turns out that irises are as individual as fingerprints. All the customer has to do is peek into a lens to register their iris, and then that pattern can be used to identify the customer later. An iris detection system being developed by Panasonic says it does not use lasers, bright lights CONFERENCE & EXPO THE BREWERY, LONDON 23-25 JUNE 2008 CARDS ONLINE MOBILE PAYMENTS Make It Pay PREPAID CARDS CORPORATE PAYMENTS PUBLIC SERVICES TRANSPORT TICKETING GIFT CARDS As my uncle and I left the general store, he waved the shovel and bag of flour at the owner, who smiled and nodded. After we left, the owner wrote the date and the items that my uncle had purchased. This is the oldest form of biometric authentication; the owner recognized my uncle by his face and knew he had an account. After we left, he added my uncle’s purchases to his bill. As time went on, and society became more complex, personal recognition of people with accounts became unworkable, so a variety of mechanisms were developed to cope with the increase in credit accounts, culminating in the plastic explosion of the 80s and 90s. Plastic cards, when fitted with an electronically readable magnetic stripe, were an inexpensive, flexible solution. Two major drawbacks to plastic cards are the fact that, if stolen, they can be used to make purchases. Conversely, if the cardholder is not, at the moment, holding the card, the account cannot be used. So, the account becomes the card itself, somewhat divorced from the person who owns the account. There are other systems in various stages, utilizing other forms of biometric identification. or any hazardous techniques. In trials, customers have shown some reticence to put their eye close to the device, and some public health concerns have been raised as well. Panasonic claims that the system is “100 to 1,000 times more accurate” than spot fingerprinting, and 3,000% more accurate than voice-print recognition. Voice-print recognition has some promise as a biometric technique. It is non-intrusive, and relatively inexpensive to deploy. It is important to note that voice-print recognition does not try to identify what is being said. It creates a profile of the individual voice which is shaped by nasal cavities, the structure of the mouth and the throat, in addition to the vocal cords themselves. Voice-print recognition is generally not as accurate as other biometric methods because of the complexity and number of elements involved. It can also be affected by respiratory or other ailments that change the timber or tonal characteristics of the voice. Voices can, and do, change over time. Voice-print accuracy can also be affected by ambient background noise. Europe’s leading event for payments innovation Prepaid 08 is unlike any conference you’ve ever been to. Interactive round tables and advice clinics provide small group conversations with prepaid innovators, allowing you to put your questions to them in an informal environment and transfer their success to your own projects. We’ve brought together 100 business leaders from around the world. There is unmissable content for YOUR sector.Visit our website for full programme details. www.prepaid-conference.com Platinum Sponsor Sponsors Organised by Biometrics Enables Naked Shopping Biometrics offers an intriguing possibility, reminiscent of the general store, where people are recognized for who they are, not for a plastic card they are carrying. There are several ways to identify people by some biometric quality. Of course, we humans tend to use appearance and maybe the sound of the voice to identify an individual. Machines cannot easily make this kind of subjective identification, but they do have the capability to make other kinds of judgments that humans cannot make. In the November 15th, 2005 issue of TPP, in an article entitled, “The Naked Truth About Biometrics,” we covered a biometric identification system, using thumbprints as identification. The system, by Pay By Touch, was deployed in several regional grocery chains, including Piggly Wiggly, who inspired the title of the article. “It’s very simple to use,” chirped the attractive young store manager. “Once you get all signed up, you only have to put your finger on the pad, and you can pay for your groceries.” The Pay By Touch system was simple for the customer. Once you registered your thumbprint and linked a credit or debit card to it, all you had to do was put your thumb on the pad at the checkout. Future May be RFID American Express recently dropped its “Express Fob” device, but Citigroup has received good consumer acceptance of its payment tag. Many analysts view the inclusion of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags into mobile telephones as the most promising alternative to plastic cards. For now, at least, “shop naked” biometric systems may drop in use, based on our research, unless, of course, there is a “cover-up” involved. http://www.prepaid-conference.com http://www.prepaid-conference.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008 Motorola to Split Mobile Payments: The Saga Continues Contents The Retske Report: Election Year and Woody Hayes Regulatory Rundown: 2008 First Quarter Mobile Update 5 Minutes with Mark Herrington tppEXPO’08 Spotlight New Handsets Announced at CTIA Prepaid Wireless in Brief Prepaid Wireless Roundup Virgin Mobile Reports Earnings of 6 Cents Movida Files Chapter 11 LiveWire Mobile Acquires Groove Mobile Boost Selects Vesta for Transactions RadioShack to Offer Trumpet Mobile Service Virgin Offers New Pay as You Go Plans Book Review: Webster’s New World Telecom Dictionary Management Changes at IDT Spot Rates Calling Cards in Brief The State of Prepaid Technology: Productive Coexistence FTC Asks Court to Halt Prepaid Calling Card Scam Louisiana Community Mulls Tax on Prepaid Cards Pactolus Wins VON Magazine Award iBasis Lowers Pakistan Rate for Pingo The Legal Line Biometric Update: Keep Your Shirt On AccountNow Ends Upfront Fees Evolution Benefits Acquires SmartFlex Payments in Brief NetSpend to Offer Bill Payment and Top-up Union Bank Introduces Contactless Card Ingenico Announces Development Kit Prepaid 101: Stupid Card Tricks PLS Offering Walk-In Bill Payment Spend Gift Cards ASAP Credit Card Breach at Hannaford Bros. NACS Withdraws Opposition to Tobacco Bill Study Finds Gift Card Packaging Increases Sales NACS Names International VP Inflatable Display Provides Inexpensive Signage Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008

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