Hitachi Tests Blockchain-Based Payment Settlements Using Fingerprint
Technology giant Hitachi in collaboration with Japanese telecom company KDDI has recently announced blockchain-based payments settlement system using fingerprint and biometric ID authentication.
In its official press release, Hitachi said that it has developed this platform by integrating Hyperledger Fabric blockchain into its biometric ID authentication hardware. This platform is developed by using KDDI’s coupon facility and Hitachi’s biometric verification system. The initial trials of this platform will be conducted in KDDI’s Tokyo store. The company also said that it has already launched an early version of this system, working with coupons, in a donut shop in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.
To use this payment settlements method, the users first need to get registered on the platform followed by a fingerprint verification or biometric authentication. Once the authentication is complete, the KDDI coupons will execute the settlement transactions using a blockchain.
The biometric information will then be stored on the blockchain using encrypted data. Note that these coupons are not blockchain-based tokens. Shoppers will then be able to make purchases at retails stores accepting these coupons while participating in the blockchain as a node. This biometric hardware will verify the identity and request the network to process transactions.
The press release notes: “[I]t is not necessary to present the coupon at the store, and the coupon can be used even without the smartphone. Hitachi’s proprietary technology, which operates on blockchain, enables automatic generation of electronic signature … with low risk of theft and leakage as a secret key.”
Hitachi is currently working on improving the efficiency of this entire infrastructure while looking for any further scope of improvement. It is also working on execution capabilities of the system, like the time taken to complete the transaction and the overall user-friendliness of the entire system.
Hitachi is working on the applications of the blockchain technology since long and is one of the founding members of the popular open-source blockchain project Hyperledger which was started by the Linux Foundation three years back in 2015. Last year, the company was also listed by Nasdaq in its Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index. This index registers only those companies having a focus on the blockchain technology.
In the press release, the two companies also expressed willingness to work on similar projects. It notes: “[We] will continue to support the creation of added value by enterprises by establishing and examining new business models to realize new services in various fields.”