Are Your Customers Ready for Biometrics?

Q: I've heard about new computer-based fingerprint identification systems. How do they work, and how can I determine if this technology is right for my business?
A: What you refer to is called biometric technology, which measures human traits such as fingerprints, retinas and irises, voice and facial patterns, and sizes and shapes of hands. This technology has been used by airports, law enforcement agencies and assorted businesses for security purposes and to provide access into secure buildings. During the past few years, biometric fingerprint identification technology has drawn interest from the retail sector to serve as a way to identify customers, reducing credit card and check fraud. The technology can also be used in conjunction with a payment terminal to actually transmit payments, which results in faster transactions.
Numerous manufacturers now make these biometric systems. Companies such as Indivos, BioPay, Identix and International Automated Fingerprint Card provide biometric software and sensors, which are then installed on point-of-sale terminals manufactured by Hypercom, VeriFone, Biometric Access Corporation and Sagem Morpho Inc. A few companies, such as International Automated Systems Inc., Keyware Technologies and Digital Persona, offer both the software and the terminals.
Biometric payment systems are most widely used by supermarkets, but they are also being pilot-tested in several fast-food restaurants nationwide and have applications at gas stations and hotels as well. Customers register a fingerprint scan with a store or restaurant and enter their credit or debit card account numbers to set up their accounts. When it comes time to make purchases, customers place their fingers on the sensors for identity purposes and pay without ever having to show their cards. The systems can also be used with checking accounts, where electronic checks are processed through an automated clearing house at a reduced cost to merchants, who pay only 8 to 12 cents (compared to the 54 cents it costs to process a conventional check). Once customers have registered, merchants can also use the technology to keep track of loyalty programs and eliminate paper coupons.
There are a few drawbacks to these systems, including the possibility of a customer being misidentified, which could lock him or her out of the system, or a scanner that fails to scan someone's print because the finger has dry or cracked skin or skin with shallow ridges. Despite these challenges, biometrics can offer merchants a reduction in fraud and chargebacks (disputed transactions), faster transaction turnaround times, easier-to-manage loyalty programs and improved reporting methods.
To encourage customers to use this new technology, some retailers have tied fingerprint identification registration to customer loyalty programs by offering additional loyalty points to those who register their fingerprints. Biometric systems allow merchants to:

• Confirm a customer's identity.
• Offer customers another payment option.
• Verify check history to weed out potential bad checks.
• Make customer payments more secure.
• Offer more efficient service.
• Maintain better reporting methods.
• Reduce fraud because fingerprints are unique to each individual and cannot be forged.
• Provide faster transaction times.

Merchants' interest in biometric fingerprinting technology is increasing as scanners decline in price--some sell as low as $100. The fingerprint scanners are compatible with most point-of-sale terminals. The technology also has applications for restaurant drive-up windows and gas pumps, for automated check-in systems at hotel counters and for ticket-driven businesses such as movie theaters and amusement parks. However, none of these options is likely to happen in the near future--until the systems become more accurate. Currently, some scanners misidentify individuals (for the reasons mentioned earlier), denying them access to the system. According to some analysts, it will take several years for merchants and their customers to accept this technology as a substitute for credit and debit cards and as identification for checks.
When you investigate biometric fingerprinting systems for your business, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Determine what your needs are. For example, do you need the system as an additional noncash payment option, as a way to identify a customer who writes a check or as a tie-in to loyalty programs?
• Look for units with built-in security, encryption and verification software.
• Don't believe any biometric manufacturer who tells you the system is foolproof.

No technology eliminates all fraud and chargebacks. However, if you want to investigate state-of-the-art customer identification technology, faster transaction times, an easy way to manage loyalty programs and an additional noncash payment option to offer your customers, then biometric fingerprint scanners might be identification and payment solutions to pursue.
Cardservice International Senior Vice President of Sales John Burtzloff is in charge of sales strategy and execution and thus is responsible for managing all aspects of the company's marketing, communications, telesales, check guarantee, new accounts and sales support activities.

Article Source:  Entrepreneur.com

One Touch Solution for your All Biometric Needs

Rapidly and steadily, Biometrics Solutions are implemented almost in every sector to solve  different purposes. The implementation of these solutions helps to ease the level of work and reduce human effort. Automating the system with advanced and recent technology makes the whole set-up appropriate and carefree operation. This helps to reduce the administrative cost of limiting the human effort and paperwork. These solutions are also positive in bringing about the changes efficiently and effectively.

One Biometric Device Multiple Uses. Biometric devices are the basic requirement of these solutions. The biometric devices integrate with these solutions and can be operated easily. Also, different kind of reports can be generated using these reports for particular operations. I would like to discuss few solutions and applications that works through the biometric devices.

One Biometric Device Multiple Uses

1. Time Office Software: This software helps to manage the 'n' number of employees with a single click. Only we have to do is, connect the biometric device with this software through an interface. It can provide you the report of late arrival, over times, leaves, holidays and other 100 kind of reports in .doc .xls.txt formats.

2. Payroll Software: Also the payroll software can be connected to Time Office software for salary processing. And in no time, salary will be processed without any effort. As the exact report will be taken care by time office software and since it will be interfaced with payroll software, so it will be easier to process the salary. The payroll software generates reports like ESI, PF, TDS etc. and includes every parameter during processing salary.

3. Leave Management: Leave Management software also works in synchronization of biometric devices. This software allows every employee to know their leave status, attendance records, holidays, CL/EL and also allow leave posting.

4. Canteen Management: For easier and hassle free Canteen Management, these uses of biometric devices are a superb idea. With this solution there will no loss and also it will operate effectively. Only registered users and employees will be able to avail the service in a specific period of time (decide by the company).

5. Visitor Management: If you want to manage your visitors and maintain the records with proper credentials, Visitor Management will help you out. This solution works with Access Control solutions or can also work independently.

6. Tea Garden Solution: If you are a tea garden owner, this solution will really help you a lot in saving a lot of money and extra human efforts. Tea Garden Solution also works with biometric devices, which ultimately gives output by streamlining your work force. As a result, productivity is increased.

Star Link India has developed few more solutions which work integrating biometric devices and that helps to solve certain purposes. As a whole, we can say that a simple biometric device can be used in different ways possible. 

How Fingerprint Recognition Technology Works in Our Devices ?

Biometrics have taken a long flight in the attendance system in this rapidly growing era of technology. Biometrics is the identification of a person based on his intrinsic characteristics, such as voice, fingerprint, iris, face and hand geometry, etc. But the most famous biometric characteristics used in attendance devices are fingerprint recognition. Fingerprint recognition is one of the most popular biometric techniques used in automatic personal identification and verification.

The use of biometrics has revolutionized the technology and level of security, wherever the biometric devices are installed. But in the course of design and development of biometric devices, the use of fingerprint recognition technology is used.

StarLink India uses the “Fingerprint Recognition Technology"StarLink India uses the “Fingerprint Recognition Technology” for verification process in its devices. During this matching process we use minutiae matching for finger verification with its template. But again the question arises, how does the template is formed? And what is minutiae matching?

Let us discuss all about the process of fingerprint template formation and minutiae matching. May be the step will seem very complex, but this whole process takes place in milliseconds.

The fingerprint is captured through optical sensor, which takes the mono-chrome image of finger print in 8bit-grayscale. Then, the 8 bit grayscale images are converted into 0&1 depending on the permutations & combinations of the nearby pixels. This is decided by running an algorithm.

Initially the image of a fingerprint that is captured by optical sensor accompanied by the CMOS sensor is in grayscale, which is not so clear. The image is filtered based on FIR (Finite Impulse Response) is used to convert the gray scale images into single thin line and as a result sharp image of fingerprint pattern is formed. Undirected lines are removed and each cut marks and unwanted marks are removed and the ridges are joined for the perfect pattern.

After this process, Gabor filter is used, which forms the 4X4 block of pixel. Then, points are marked on valleys, ridges, bifurcations and deltas. Then its 15-20 minutiae are marked in X-Y axis, including the direction of the minutiae. A unique pattern is formed by matching minutiae with its directions. Thus, the image formed is a final fingerprint template which is an array of minutiae of 240x320 pixels in the range of 200-500 byte.

Now templates of fingerprints are stored in the memory of the device. After the storage of template, whenever anyone punches, the templates stored is matched with his fingerprint. The matching is done on the basis of “matching score”, which is fixed by the admin. We have to take care while deciding the Matching score, because the FALSE ACCEPTANCE RATE increases with decrease in security score, whereas FALSE REJECTION RATE increases when security score increases.

The fingerprint matching is done in Our Devices on the following methods:-

1:1 matching: In this method, employer shows their attendance card (which holds it details), then a message comes off “Put finger”. So when he shows the ID, the finger template is stored against his name is matched with the fingerprint he is punching. And after which message of success or failure comes. It is very fast matching method which takes less time; and this method is perfect for the workplace of more than 1000 employees.

1:N matching: In this method, the employee punches and his fingerprint are matched with the total number of templates stored in the device and depending on the matching score, the success or failure rate is decided. This method is perfect for the work place of less than 1000 employees as it takes more time than the previous one.

All this process is handled by a dedicated DSP (Digital Signal Processor) running at 400 MHz speed in StarLink's Devices.

Although it may appear to be a simple process, fingerprint recognition involves the state-of-the-art technology in hardware, for the readers, and software, to process the fingerprint images and templates. But due to the effort of our hardware and software team, all this complexity is hidden and fingerprint technology usage is nowadays as simple as touching the reader.

StarLink has expertise in manufacturing and designing the fingerprint system according to the requirements. So if you want to consider this technology and want a flawless operation of your biometric devices, then StarLink will certainly help out with best device.