Natural Security, a French biometric technology company, has completed its pilot of a new payment method with 94% of participants claiming they are ready to use this payment option for their in-store purchases.
In collaboration with Banque Accord, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Groupe Auchan, Ingenico and Leroy Merlin, the method incorporates payment cards, biometrics and mid-range contactless technology.
To study the technical aspects of the project, fingerprint (Angoulême) and finger vein (Villeneuve-d’Ascq) biometric technologies were tested in real transactions. Instead of entering a PIN, users only had to place a finger on a reader to be authenticated.
During the trial, almost 5,000 transactions were carried out by participants. The average transaction amount was 58.6 ($76.1) – 15% higher than the value of the average card payment.
The overall response to the payment method was positive with partakers describing it as modern (74%), innovative (71%), secure (61%) and convenient (60%).
Natural Security chief executive Cedric Hozanne said: "This pilot has been particularly significant in building our technical knowledge of how the standard works in real life transactions, as well as our understanding of customer behaviours and reactions."
"We’ll be using the results to feed into future development, but undoubtedly it’s been a success. Consumers are ready for this new type of payment method."
The pilot was carried out in France from October 2012 to March 2013 and involved over 900 consumers.
Natural Security is currently carrying out trials for online and offline transactions in the US.
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