From...

February 9, 2000
Web posted at: 12:12 p.m. EST (1712 GMT)

by Laura Rohde

(IDG) -- A smart card that can verify its owner through fingerprint verification or iris recognition has been developed by Keyware Technologies and Proton World International.

The smart card, called e-purse, is being demonstrated at the Smart Card 2000 trade show in London, the companies said in a statement.

The security technology on which the smart cards are based, known as biometrics, has been developed by Keyware Technologies as a way to combat fraud and other security issues, the companies said. Other examples of biometric technology that Keyware also develops include voice and face verification, as well as hand geometry.

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Keyware has licensed its biometric technology under the name Layered Biometric Verification (LBV).

The biometric technology has been combined with Keyware's smart card technology to launch the Proton CEPS (common electronic purse specification)-based e-purse, the companies said.

The biometrics can be used in conjunction with PINs (personal identification numbers) and passwords and cannot be duplicated by impostors, the companies said.

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The card holder's biography is stored within the smart card chip, which supplies the highest level of security for home banking and e-commerce, the companies said.

Proton World was created by American Express, ERG, Interpay and Visa International to develop products for the smart card and electronic purse open standards.

Proton World and Keyware did not give a release date for an introduction of the smart card onto the mass market, nor did they say how much such smart cards would cost consumers.