‘Payment by Vein’ Trialed in UK Supermarket

A supermarket in London is trialing a biometric payment system that uses the unique vein pattern in fingertips to pay for goods. The business Costcutter said it would consider rolling ‘Fingopay’ out more widely if the test, at Brunel University, was successful, BBC reported. An electronic reader maps the user’s finger veins, generating a unique key. During registration, users need to link their finger pattern to their credit or debit card and then they can pay for goods without the need to be carrying any cash or cards. The technology has been developed by electronics giant Hitachi, with biometric payments company Sthaler licensed to roll it out in the retail sector. Nick Dryden, chief executive of Sthaler, said the system would appeal to young people. “Today’s millennial generation now expects a higher level of ease, security and efficiency from the way that we pay,” he said. Barclays bank introduced the same Hitachi-developed technology in 2014 when a similar finger vein desktop reader was rolled out to its corporate customers.