Infineon & NEXT Biometrics team up on smart card reference design

The reference platform incorporates all necessary elements to develop and manufacture a smart card with a fingerprint sensor and helps card makers to simplify their production processes and to shorten time-to-market for their offerings. The use of biometrics for second factor authentication is said to be next big thing in payment card innovation following signatures, embossing, magnetic stripe and secure chip technologies. Instead of entering a PIN or showing an ID, the card holder authenticates by using a fingerprint sensor embedded on the card. The biometric card reference design includes a biometric module, a secure element, an operating system with biometric and payment applets, as well as a recommended and proven pre-lamination and lamination method for manufacturing the card. “Infineon is committed to enable a secure and convenient payment experience enhanced by fingerprint authentication,” says Bjoern Scharfen, Head of the product line Payment & Wearables at Infineon, in a press release. “As a turnkey solution, the reference platform that Infineon jointly developed with NEXT will drive biometric innovations in the smart card industry and help make digital transactions easier and safer.” “By listening to our customers and focusing on their requirements, we’ve made it a priority to deliver the tools they need to speed the implementation and deployment of biometric smart card technology,” adds Ritu Favre, CEO of NEXT Biometrics. “With our leadership in large-area, flexible fingerprint sensor technology and Infineon’s semiconductor expertise we’re delivering a complete solution that can be used by smart card makers to add further innovation. By simplifying development, Infineon and NEXT are leading the way toward making the use of biometric smart cards pervasive worldwide.”