Kona I supplies fingerprint cards to Samsung Card... "First commercial use in Korea"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Kona I announced on the 22nd that it will supply fingerprint cards equipped with Samsung Electronics' 'fingerprint authentication IC chip' to Samsung Card. This is the first case in Korea to supply fingerprint cards supporting payment functions. Kona I plans to take the lead in the fingerprint card market based on this.

To this end, Kona I signed a project cooperation agreement with Samsung Electronics for the development of fingerprint cards, and is promoting Mastercard certification by installing a global platform (GP)-based operating system and Mastercard's latest fingerprint authentication payment application on the fingerprint cards.

Kona I's fingerprint card is a card that identifies the cardholder's fingerprint by embedding a fingerprint recognition device. When the finger is placed on the fingerprint sensor and the card is touched to the terminal, payment can be made without a separate signature procedure. It can be used immediately without replacing existing terminals, complies with international standards EMV and ISO certifications, ensuring excellent universality and compatibility, and offers convenience as there is no need to enter a PIN or password for overseas payments.

In particular, personal information such as fingerprint data is encrypted and stored separately in the chip within the card, and it is equipped with a function to identify fake fingerprints such as silicon fingerprints using the latest security technology, allowing use without worry about information leakage due to hacking.

The fingerprint card supplied to Samsung Card this time is equipped with a chip developed by Samsung Electronics for fingerprint cards. This chip, by integrating the fingerprint recognition sensor, MCU, SE, etc., which were previously installed separately, into a single chip for the first time in the world, has resolved the existing price entry barrier, and since it does not require a separate battery, it is evaluated as the most versatile product among existing fingerprint cards.

Jungil Cho, CEO of Kona I, said, "The European Union (EU) officially announced the commercialization of multipurpose fingerprint credit cards and stated that innovative biometric smart cards using fingerprint sensors will be used for government IDs, credit cards, blockchain, etc., so global demand for fingerprint cards is expected to continue to increase," adding, "From 2022, full-scale mass production and supply of fingerprint cards are expected in the domestic market as well, and starting with the supply to Samsung Card this time, we will accelerate market leadership."

Meanwhile, Kona I has participated in numerous fingerprint card pilot projects, including as a pilot operator for Visa's fingerprint card certification project in 2019. It developed the first fingerprint card in Korea that obtained FIDO 2.0 certification, an authentication method replacing passwords online, and in April obtained Mastercard's fingerprint card product certification. Based on fingerprint card technology, it is developing the smart card market and related services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.