A bank in Great Britain called Natwest has released a debit card that comes with a built-in fingerprint reader. The card will be on trial with a select group of consumers to see how it works in the real world.
Instead of the consumer constantly typing in PINs as they make purchases, the card simply scans their fingerprint for authorization. The card is an NFC card, which means it doesn’t have to touch the card reader. Instead, it sends a signal for the reader to, well, read.
In England, NFC cards are currently available for use, but for products over 30 pounds, you must actually enter the card and type your PIN. This card aims to add a little more security to the process. To make a payment, you must be holding your finger over the sensor as you tap the card, so that it can verify that it is you making the payment and not some creepy hacker. Additionally, for another layer of security, your fingerprint data is stored on the card, not on a server. Therefore, it is much harder to access the information maliciously.