Sella launches pilot of biometric credit card in Italy

Italy’s Sella has launched the trial of a biometric recognition credit card that allows people to make payments using their fingerprint.

The pilot project is being led by Sella Personal Credit, Sella group’s unit specialising in credit for families and will target select customers based in Italy.

The biometric card is being issued by Sella on the Visa scheme, developed in partnership with identity technology solutions provider Idemia.

As part of the project, each chosen customer will receive a kit with a device on which the customer’s fingerprint can be enrolled, without the need for visiting the bank branch.

Sella says that once the fingerprint is acquired, the card is ready for use and requires no batteries to operate.

“The biometric chip is powered directly by the POS (point of sale) in case of contact payments and through a magnetic field for contactless transactions,” Sella says. “It will be sufficient to place your finger on the biometric chip on the front of the card to have a payment securely authorised.”

It adds that the biometric card will be usable across the world and recognised by any EMV-certified POS and ATM terminal.

“This new card enables a recognition mode that daily, is already in use by many people on their smartphones,” says Giorgio Orioli, CEO and general manager of Sella Personal Credit.

Orioli adds that the collaboration with Visa and IDEMIA will “enrich our customers’ payment experience while ensuring simplicity and security”.