Fingerprint Payment System

In the quest for more secure identity management (without the need for more passwords), Samsung decided to incorporate a new fingerprint payment system into their recently released Galaxy S5 smart phones. The new technology can be used to authorize purchases on Web sites and apps that accept PayPal with a swipe of a finger. It’s also compatible with the PayPal mobile app to pay for goods in certain U.S. brick-and-mortar stores.

The protocol is designed so that an individual’s fingerprint record is only stored on their personal device. Cryptographic keys generated by the integral fingerprint reader are combined with other keys from the device’s cryptographic chip to ensure that the fingerprint can’t be copied.

The new payment system was developed by the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, a group of more than 100 companies, whose members include technology giants, device manufacturers, and representatives of the financial sector. The core mission of FIDO is to improve multi-factor authentication, reduce complexity, and promote open standards to ensure interoperability.