Samsung announces a fingerprint security chip for payment cards

South Korea’s Samsung has unveiled what it calls “the first fingerprint security chip, the first in the industry for “payment cards”.
The S3B512C chip is characterized by reading vital information via the fingerprint sensor, storing and authenticating data using a secure, tamper-proof element, and analyzing it using a secure processor, according to Business Wire.
While the chip is primarily designed for payment cards, it can also be used to “identify a student, employee, membership or building access,” Samsung said.

The new chip can make it easier for banks and others to create biometric payment cards, a solution that is in line with MasterCard’s latest payment card security specifications.

Another advantage of the chip is that it allows “faster and safer interactions when making purchases”, removes the need for a secret code, and uses anti-spoofing technology to prevent fraudulent methods such as artificial fingerprints.
Last year, Samsung announced its collaboration with MasterCard on a biometric scanning payment card with a built-in fingerprint reader.