Google has filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office that describes a contact lens which collects reflected light through sensors to assemble an image of the iris that is then matched against a stored image to authenticate the wearer... More
Authentication
RBC unveils Android M mobile wallet app
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has developed an app for the Android M Developer Preview that will be used as part of the bank’s RBC Wallet service to let users authenticate themselves using their fingerprint for signing in and making mobile payments... More
Chase Bank adds Touch ID authentication
Chase Bank has added Touch ID authentication to its Chase Mobile app for iOS to let users log in to the service using their fingerprint... More
Apple Store purchases get two-step authentication
The Apple Store app for iOS has been updated with two-step authentication, meaning users will now need to enter both a password and a verification code sent to a trusted device before they can complete a purchase... More
India’s ICICI Bank launches voice recognition service
India’s largest private sector bank ICICI Bank has become the first in the country to launch a voice recognition-based service, allowing more than 33 million customers to make banking transactions through the bank’s call centre by authenticating themselves using their voice... More
NTT Docomo rolls out Fido biometrics platform in Japan
NTT Docomo has become the world’s first mobile network operator (MNO) to deploy Fido authentication throughout its network, allowing it to replace passwords for millions of customers across its services with a range of enhanced authentication methods including both fingerprint- and iris-based biometrics... More
Android to get fingerprint authentication
Android M, the next edition of Google’s mobile operating system, will include native fingerprint authentication to allow users to log in to their Android devices without entering a password, BuzzFeed reports... More
Apple Watch vulnerability could let thieves use Apple Pay
A video published by a group of hackers has demonstrated how a stolen Apple Watch could be used by the thief to make payments using Apple Pay without them having to authenticate the transactions in any way — as long as they are quick. More
Sekur.me brings Apple Pay online
Online authentication provider Sekur.me has made it possible for merchants to accept Apple Pay for online payments for the first time, via a Universal Buy Button that works with a wide range of platforms and gateways, browsers and on both Android and iOS devices... More
Axis to make 50,000 terminals contactless in India
India’s Axis Bank is to enable all of its 50,000 merchant point-of-sale terminals to accept contactless payments by the end of this year in order to “facilitate significant usage of contactless NFC-based cards issued by all banks”... More
Alibaba signs up brands for QR-like dotless visual codes
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has launched a platform for brands and product manufacturers that will enable them to place “dotless visual codes” on product packaging so that consumers can scan to check a product’s authenticity and get information, discounts and recommendations based on their preferences... More
Mountain America offers dual biometric log-in for mobile banking
Mountain America Credit Union has announced the beta release of a dual biometric log-in feature that lets its members access their mobile banking app either by scanning their finger or taking a picture of their eye, claiming to be the first to have combined fingerprint and eye-imaging technology in an attempt to make biometrics available to all of its mobile banking users... More
India gets PIN-free contactless payments
Contactless users in India can make payments of up to Rs2,000 (US$31) without using a PIN, following the Reserve Bank of India’s relaxation of its requirement for two-factor authentication... More
Global biometrics market to hit $14.9bn by 2024
The global biometrics market will increase from US$2bn in 2015 to $14.9bn by 2024, with cumulative revenue for the 10-year period reaching $67.8bn, market intelligence firm Tractica forecasts... More
Japanese carrier to secure mobile payments with iris scanning phone
Japan’s largest mobile network operator NTT Docomo has unveiled an NFC smartphone that comes equipped with an iris authentication system from Fujitsu that will let owners unlock the device and authenticate mobile payments just by looking at it... More
Windows 10 for mobile gets HCE
Microsoft is to introduce support for host card emulation (HCE) payments in the mobile version of its Windows 10 operating system... More
Microsoft says Hello to biometric security
Windows 10 users will be able to use biometric technology to secure access to their devices, Microsoft has announced... More
Facebook rolls out payments with Messenger app
Facebook users in the US will soon be able to make and receive secure mobile payments for free via the social network’s Messenger app... More
Halifax checks pulse of biometric wristband
UK bank Halifax is investigating how Bionym’s Nymi Band, a device that uses the wearer’s unique cardiac rhythm to authenticate their identity, could be used to reduce the need for customers to remember their passwords... More
Qualcomm demos 3D fingerprint technology for mobile phones
A fingerprint authentication solution that uses ultrasonic technology to scan through a smartphone cover made of glass, stainless steel, sapphire or plastic as well as contaminants on a finger, such as sweat or condensation, has been unveiled by Qualcomm. The technology can “detect if you are you under very difficult conditions,” product manager Max Hamel has told NFC World. More