British bank NatWest is releasing a new contactless payment card fitted with a digital finger print captor technology that will be launched as a trial this month. After this test phase, the bank hopes to adopt this type of card definitively for all their clients.
A card that is pushing boundaries
The British bank NatWest has collaborated with the Dutch company Gemalto who specialise in technical security with the aim of creating a contactless biometric card. Current contactless technology allows your bank card to pay for items using NFC technology. However as there is not additional security, you can only spend a maximum of 30 pounds per day.
This new card means this security limit could be lifted as it offers the necessary levels of security. As mentioned in the press release on the 14 March 2019, the client only needs to complete a digital fingerprint. A piloting stage will begin mid-April and will involve 200 existing NatWest clients who will use this new bank card to make purchases.
The information about the client’s fingerprint will be stocked directly on the card and not in the banks database. Of course this system is not completely infallible. The traditional 4 digit pin code will still remain as an addition measure of security. However not everyone would be able to hack this type of technology.
Reduce hacking problems
Unlike payment methods like Apple pay and Google pay which are configurable online, holders of this NatWest card will have to go to the branch to set it up. The card will be given free of charge to anyone who opens up a new account after the trial stage has been validated. People without access to the newest smartphone technology can therefore benefit from this new digital fingerprint card as well.
The company Gemalto have already developed this technology. They carried out tests in South Africa in 2017 and even in Italy with a partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo bank. This new collaboration with NatWest gives greater strength to this project!
Sources : The Verge – Siècle Digital
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