Automated Fingerprint Identification
Improving Security and Consumer Self-Service
 

A key component of International Automated Systems's (IAS) consumer self-service product is the biometric system, which verifies people's identities when they make a payment-eliminating the need for a counterperson to check one's proper identification.

 

 

IAS was among the first companies to develop an automated biometric identification system, entitled the Automated Fingerprint Identification Machine (AFIM). The company has U.S. and international patents on taking any type of biometric image-fingerprint, hand, facial, voice, even iris -and generating a digital code that represents unique characteristics of the image.

 

The code can be stored in a file as small as 100 bytes-which fits easily onto the magnetic stripe of a credit or debit card. That's a key differentiator of the technology, and makes the cost of implementation far less than other biometric systems that require the use of expensive smart cards.    

Security Applications

 

 

 

This is a time when U.S. citizens are concerned about security, whether it be in their homes, at their workplace or when they travel. IAS's Automated Fingerprint Identification may provide a solution to problems raised by recent, pressing security issues.

 

 

Fingerprint technology can be used for a broad range of security needs, from checking in airline passengers to helping establish identity of foreign nationals living in the U.S. As demand grows for personal protection, IAS continues to explore ways to apply its technology to a variety of security issues.

 

 

Automated Fingerprint Ensures a Faster Check-Out

 

 

Here's how the technology works. To get started, a customer receives a store debit card, which includes on its magnetic stripe, digitized information of his or her fingerprint. At the point-of-purchase, a supermarket shopper passes that card through a card scanner and places his or her thumb on the AFIM. The AFIM software then checks the user's live fingerprint against the digitized "fingerprint" on the magnetic stripe of the card. In less than a second, the identity is verified.

IAS has connected into the Automatic Clearing House (ACH) system, which processes the vast majority of checks in the U.S. Because IAS' AFIM technology has been approved by ACH for compatibility with any bank, customers have the flexibility to use any bank account with their AFIM debit card.

 

 

For store owners, the self-service technology made possible by IAS increases protection against fraud, lowers overhead associated with cashiers and processing, and lowers the number of checks marked for day-end reconciliation.

 

 

Implementation Costs: A Key Differentiator

 

 

One of the key advantages of IAS's Automated Fingerprint Identification system is the cost of implementation. Other biometric systems generate large, digital image files that must be stored on a smart card, or similar technologies with a greater amount of data storage capacity. The difference in cost is substantial. Typically, a magnetic stripe card costs approximately $0.05 each, whereas, a smart card costs approximately between $3 and $5 each. With 100 million users, this is a variance in cost of about $300-$500 million for the use of a smart card and $5 million for the use of a magnetic stripe card.