Dutch companies test biometrics

Equens and supermarket chain Albert Heijn will begin a pilot with ‘Tip2Pay - pay with your fingertip'. For a period of six months, customers of Albert Heijn will be able to pay for their shopping using their fingertips.

The objective of the pilot is to investigate the potential of this technology as a new payment method and establish whether it is received positively by consumers. This is the first pilot of its kind in the Netherlands. It will last six months, after which an evaluation will take place.

Tip2Pay enables consumers to pay quickly and securely by placing their fingertip on the reader at the checkout. After they have provided proof of identification and a debit card, a scan will be made of the unique parts of their fingertip. Their name and address details, bank account number and - if required - their customer loyalty card will be registered in accordance with Netherlands privacy laws. Equens will process all fingertip payments.

This pilot is in line with the innovation policy of both Equens and Albert Heijn. Equens general manager, new business, Dave Rietveld comments: "Recent developments in technology facilitate new and improved payment methods. Equens therefore operates an innovative policy geared towards the development of new payment products based on market requirements."

In addition to this pilot, Equens is currently also developing solutions such as m-payments and electronic invoicing or ‘e-invoicing'. Albert Heijn is currently also testing a variety of innovative payment methods at local level. These include m-payments, mobile scanning and contactless payments. “We regularly test new payment concepts among our customers. We only continue their development if they are received with enthusiasm,” says Jan de Heij, innovation manager, Albert Heijn.

The pilot will be conducted in consultation with IT-Werke which specialises in integrating biometric technology in retail and consumer applications. The IT-Werke system has already been successfully tested at the German supermarket chain Edeka, which now offers fingertip payment services at 120 of its stores.