Since the Covid-19 crisis and the omnipresence of barrier gestures, the use of contactless payment has exploded in France. According to the Observatory for the Security of Payment Means, no less than one out of two purchases was made this way in 2020. Faced with constantly changing consumption habits, the bank card therefore continues to adapt by becoming biometric.
After the identity card, the biometric bank card saves time and peace of mind to its holder. Fast, practical and secure, it is created from the fingerprint of its owner and works thanks to a sensor, which guarantees identification and the transaction. To pay for a purchase, all you have to do is place your thumb on the reader provided for this purpose.
Depending on the configuration selected, the biometric card allows you to choose, during payment, between identification by fingerprint and entering the secret code of your bank card. Up to the sum of 50 euros, its operation is that of a contactless card, but the imprint becomes required beyond this amount. From then on, no more cap will be put in place to pay for your purchases.
Directly transferred to your card, your fingerprints are stored on its chip using an “activation connector” after being collected. While the concern may remain over the safeguarding of this personal data, the servers of each bank do not keep any copies of your fingerprints. Banks are thus committed to the complete security of your information through a rigorous confidentiality process.
By means of a biometric box, the registration of your fingerprint can be done very easily at your home or in an agency. Thanks to this technology, the possibilities of fraud and hacking are considerably reduced while the integrity of payments is guaranteed. As microelectronics expert Linxens explains to Les Echos, after investing 5 million euros in this new market, the biometric bank card reduces the risk of remote monitoring of purchases and leakage of personal information.
Initiated by BNP Paribas in 2021, the biometric bank card is also available at Crédit Agricole and is still being deployed at Société Générale. Visa Premier, Gold Mastercard, but also World Elite Mastercard, can thus benefit from it. Jean-Marie Dragon, Electronic Banking and Innovative Payments Manager at BNP Paribas, therefore evokes, for presse-citron.net, a “big investment” and “a bet” on the future, at the dawn of a probable disappearance. gradual change from the traditional bank card. BNP Paribas now offers this paid option for 24 euros per year, or 2 euros per month, to which must be added the price of the subscription.