Tag: EyeVerify

While the biometrics trends have been focusing on fingerprints, the Chinese giant is looking at eyes.

Biometrics based mobile payment security is still in its early days. So far, certain companies, such as Apple, have introduced fingerprint scanning to verify a device user’s identity. However, Alibaba has something else in mind.

Alibaba’s payments and financial services affiliate, Ant Financial, recently announced new plans.

Ant Financial purchased EyeVerify for an undisclosed amount. EyeVerify is a startup based in Kansas City, Missouri. Reports have suggested that the acquisition may have been made for anywhere from $70 million to $100 million. This suggests that the e-commerce giant from China may be looking into a new kind of mobile payments security.

Not only will this purchase provide the company with one more step in expanding its reach into the western market, but it also reveals an interest in biometric security. That type of technology analyzes biological features that can be detected with scanners. In the case of EyeVerify, the software they produce can analyze and recognize the veins on the sclera (the visible part of the eyeball that is white inc color).

This mobile payment security uses a smartphone’s front-facing camera to capture the vein patterns of the eye.

Once the pattern has been captured, it is recorded so that it can be used for certain mobile security features. These can include logging into an account or even unlocking a phone, similar to the way fingerprint scanners are currently used.

According to EyeVerify, this type of biometric security provides the same level of verification protection as a password of 50 characters in length.

Ant Financial first introduced biometric mobile payment security software into its Alipay app in July 2015. This was released exclusively to a small group of beta testers. The beta testers have the ability to log into their accounts using traditional password and/or fingerprint readings. That said, they can also choose to have their eyes scanned in order to log in.

Companies from China stand to gain a great deal from biometric security investments. The reason is that the country is facing a massive battle against online fraud and every new layer of security protection can go a long way.

Vodafone Turkey is making it possible to simply look at a smartphone for authentication.

The Turkish branch of Vodafone has recently revealed that it will be using EyeVerify technology in order to boost the mobile security of its payments app, allowing customers to open their wallets simply by looking into the camera feature of their smartphones.

iPhone users of the Vodafone Cep Cüzdan mobile wallet app can already register their eyes.

In order to do this, they need only take a picture of their eyes. From that point on, in order to be able to get past the mobile security of their wallet app, they need to take a selfie in which they are looking at the camera. This verification feature is provided by way of the EyeVerify Eyeprint ID tech. That technology is actually able to create map of the unique pattern of veins within the user’s eyes. That is automatically converted into a complex 50 character password.

This mobile security technique takes the image of the individual’s eyes and transforms them into a complicated password.

The Eyeprint ID takes the image and encrypts and scrambles it locally. For this reason the actual image and information never has to leave the mobile device. This is meant to make the mobile wallet even more secure because it means that it cannot be intercepted, lost, or stolen, says EyeVerify.

The new partnership with Vodafone is the outcome of a new contract that has been established between Olcsan CAD Technology and EyeVerify in Turkey.

Biometrics are becoming an increasingly important part of the mobile payments and wallet experience as a growing number of tech companies choose to add additional verification over the traditional password experience.

The use of fingerprints is becoming more commonplace than ever in order to boost mobile security for a device or a specific app. In this case it is a matter of using the patterns in the eyes of the user instead of focusing on a fingerprint or thumbprint to identify each individual user and block the wrong parties from gaining access. It is more than likely that biometrics will start to appear in an ever broader range of uses as this tech becomes more broadly used for financial purposes.