ATI aims to make waves with fingerprint ATMs

“In the past, it was hard to push our biometrics solutions to banks without complete, integrated end-products,” said Alex Hsieh, project manager of the Financial Business Department at Arachnoid Technology Inc. (ATI), a total biometrics-solution provider in Taiwan.

The company encountered refusals when pushing its solutions to local financial institutions in past years.

However, this is set to change as ATI has recently partnered with Wincor Nixdorf, a global top-three supplier of automated-teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (POS) systems, for its Bio-ATM solution.

Catering to the banking environment, the solution incorporates fingerprint-recognition features into ATMs for added authentication purposes. Under the pact, ATI will supply fingerprint sensors, fingerprint modules, servers and related software to Wincor Nixdorf.

“Most important, solutions are now integrated and we have fingerprint ATMs ready to operate,” emphasized Hsieh.

As numerous mergers and acquisitions are taking place in the banking sector, various financial institutions are in search of unique products, services and solutions to stand out from the competition.

As such, ATI targets having at least one local bank deploy its Bio-ATM solution by the first quarter of next year; it will then replicate the business model in other countries.

According to figures from International Biometric Group, e-commerce, telephony, retail, ATM and POS applications are estimated to have a combined 6.1 percent share of biometrics-application revenue this year.

The number is comparatively low compared with criminal-identification applications--widely deployed by the public sector--which is expected to garner the highest revenues at 26.2 percent.

“Full-scale biometrics deployments are still limited to the financial sector in Asia,” Hsieh admitted.

But he is optimistic about market outlook as the public and financial sectors are the two most willing to invest in security solutions; ATI will continue its focus on these industries to further boost acceptance of biometrics solutions.

To start, the company hopes users accept its fingerprint ATMs voluntarily at the initial stage and go for wider adoption in the midterm. It will continue to seek partnerships with more banks and ATM vendors.

South Korea

Meanwhile, South Korean vendors Hunno Technologies Inc. and Hyosung Corp. announced a deal last year under which Hunno’s fingerprint-identification technology will be incorporated into ATMs manufactured by Hyosung.

Under the pact, Hunno supplies MS2600 fingerprint ID scanners--a biometrics-based identification system that prevents fraudulent-banking incidents by denying account access when attempted by unauthorized individuals with non-matching fingerprints.