Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

Japanese smokers must first pass biometric age test

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Fujitaka, a Japanese company has begun development on a vending machine that uses face recognition technology to check a smoker’s age and keep anyone under the age of 20 from having access to cigarettes.

Purchasers who failed a digital camera “age test” would need to show the machine an ID card to establish they were legally allowed to smoke. The system compares facial characteristics including bone structure, sags and crow’s feet against a record of more than 100,000 people and Fujitaka says the system gets it right in nine out of ten cases.

Read the full story here[end] 

Barnes International announced that its updated Visa GPR Test module now complies with the latest version of Visa’s Global Personalization Requirements.

The updated test tool will offer evaluation of a chip product to ensure it meets industry and payment scheme certification standards. This reduces a product’s time to market as the chip is aligned to Visa Specifications throughout the development life cycle and before applying for official Visa approval.

read more »

The Province of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia and the Alma Mater Society have negotiated a plan to prevent students from dropping out of courses but still keeping their subsidized U-Pass, according to The Ubyssey.

read more »

Japan’s three main cell phone providers, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank, have joined forces to create the NFC Consortium in hopes of advancing Japan’s contactless payments platform toward international standards.

read more »

Collis announced the launch of a complete terminal test suite for the U.S. and Canadian markets, the Collis Merchant Test Suite.

The software modules comprising the Collis Merchant Test Suite – Collis Brand Test Tool and Collis Card Simulator – are combined to offer an all-in-one EMV contact and contactless solution for merchants, processors and acquirers that are involved in the development, testing and deployment of acceptance devices.

read more »

Missouri State University in Springfield is rolling out its new Bear Pass, a student ID card that also provides door access and debit card functionality. The purpose behind the new card is to make the campus safer while keeping a student’s information secure, according to school officials.

read more »

Collis has announced the launch of its Visa Mobile Payment Specification (VMCPS) Test Suite, enabling the functional testing of UICC or secure element-based contactless mobile payments applications.

read more »