London students can now pay for groceries using just their finger vein pattern thanks to a 'world-first' payment system at a Costcutter at Brunel University.
The technology, developed by tech firm Sthaler, uses infrafred to scan finger veins, and links this unique biometric map to their bank cards, before storing bank details with payment provider Worldpay, the Telegraph reported.
According to the paper, Sthaler has said it is in serious talks with other major supermarkets to adopt the finger vein scanners at check-outs.
It takes one minute to sign up to the system initially and then takes just seconds to place your finger in a scanner each time you reach the supermarket checkout, Sthaler said.
Simon Binns, commercial director of Sthaler, told the Telegraph: “This makes payments so much easier for customers. They don’t need to carry cash or cards. They don’t need to remember a pin number. You just bring yourself.”
The company said it expects 3,000 out of 13,000 to have signed up by November, and said fingerprint payments are already widely used at cash points in Poland, Turkey and Japan, the Telegraph said.
“Your vein pattern is secure because it is kept on a database in an encrypted form, as binary numbers. No card details are stored with the retailer or ourselves, it is held with Worldpay, in the same way it is when you buy online,” Binns told the Telegraph.
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