Biometrics enable more secure payments and financial services in several of the week’s news on Biometric updatebetween Socure adding risk analytics through the $136 million acquisition of Effectiv, Keyo’s palm biometrics being integrated by Al.Tech to secure transactions in the DRC, and Mastercard launching password payments in a new region. The range of technologies used against different fraud vectors also includes Herta’s biometrics used by the European EITHOS project to detect deepfakes, as well as age assurance and automated border control measures that two governments are studying for contract opportunities.

Top biometric news of the week

Microexpression analysis is a new front opened in the fight against deepfakes by a European consortium known as EITHOS. Herta Security brings its expertise in biometrics to the group, which has placed deepfake detection software with police in three countries for testing before a planned launch in 2025.

The EC wants to entrust the development of an app to check age while preserving privacy for $4.3 million. Bids for this two-year contract are reserved for suppliers with a turnover of several million euros and significant experience in meeting short deadlines for million-euro contracts. Bids must be submitted before November 18.

An RFI published by the Netherlands asks what “future-proof” automated border control system options are available that can integrate biometrics and help manage passenger flows. The country is preparing for the possible launch of EES production, and a possible market notice at the end of February.

Socure has chosen fraud risk detection provider Effectiv in a $136 million acquisition to deploy combinatorial rules on third-party systems and integrate new features into its end-to-end platform. Socure also gained a customer that protects against fraud in higher education and related financial aid.

Keyo forms partnerships with technology integrators to integrate its palm biometric scanners into applications and market them. Among them, Al.Tech, which has developed solutions to respond demand in the Democratic Republic of Congo for biometric paymentsidentity verification and access control.

Mastercard rolls out access keys for payments in the Middle East and North Africafollowing their launch in India. Starting with the midi payment platform in the UAE, the payment key service will be offered as a more secure alternative to OTPs when making online payments.

A Washington-based think tank says America has a digital verification dividedue to the lack of documents possessed by low-income and marginalized people and the confusion between biometrics for identity verification and surveillance and law enforcement. Login.gov has helped less than expected so far, but ID.me data suggests the situation could be improved with biometrics.

Panama introduced a national digital identity card and wallet for identity verification to access public and private online services. The digital ID is available to citizens and permanent residents and essentially digitizes the national ID card provided by Mühlbauer and its partners. The Electoral Tribunal is overseeing the deployment.

A new bill before the UK Parliament would establish a dedicated office to work on digital identification, as well as a national digital verification service to operationalize the DIATF. Julie Dawson of Yoti says DAU opens up opportunities for digital identification to help both individuals and businesses. The bill would also apply consent requirements to pixel tracking and device fingerprinting.

On the first anniversary of Australia’s ConnectID, chief executive Andrew Black sees progress in the country’s digital identity landscape, but warns it could become siloed. Interoperability is keyand new NSW Digital Minister Jihad Dib says his digital strategy treats inclusivity as another.

The Sovrin Foundation plans to close its MainNet ledger on March 31, 2025, in part due to a decline in its usage and the impact of an uncertain regulatory environment on investors. Resources were being misused and problems with governance and community involvement, according to a LinkedIn Post.

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biometric authentication | biometrics | digital identification | digital identity | week in review