Money at Your Fingertips: Supermarket Tests Biometric Payments By Scanning Fingerprints Instead of Credit Cards

Money at your fingertips -- a French supermarket chain tests the biometric payment system on a group of 1500 volunteers in the north of France, by scanning fingerprints instead of credit cards. A supermarket in northern France is testing a system of biometric payment in an attempt to make grocery shopping a lot easier. In a pilot operation by a supermarket chain in Villeneuve d'Asq on Tuesday (October 23) on a 1500-strong control group, customers can make purchases by swiping their fingers on a biometric reader. An exchange of data takes place between the credit card and the fingerprint reader as the customer places his hand on the scanner, provided the fingerprint reader is less than two metres away from the credit card. No more fumbling in your purse for change or racking your brains for your credit card code, said one happy customer. The customer's biometric print is stored in the chip of the credit card and information is directly sent to the fingerprint reader without passing through a centralized biometric database. This ensures the customer's privacy and makes the system theft proof, according to Natural Security, the company behind the idea. The system will continue to be tested for six months at the French supermarket before going public.