Sella is launching a trial of a credit card with biometric recognition that, thanks to a small chip sensor, allows people to make payments using their fingerprint.

Deploying the new card, which provides biometric verification for both contact and contactless payments, is led by Sella Personal Credit, the Sella Group Company specialising in family credit, which has inaugurated a pilot project involving a selected target of customers in Italy.

Each customer of Sella Personal Credit is provided with a kit containing a special device (“sleeve”) that allows the enrollment of their fingerprint on the card in complete independence and through a few simple steps, without having to go to the bank branch. Once the fingerprint has been acquired, the card is ready to be used immediately: the biometric chip is in fact powered directly by the Point-of-Sale in contact mode and by a magnetic field in the case of contactless transactions. It will be sufficient to place your finger on the space enclosing the biometric chip on the front of the card to securely authorise a payment.

The new F.CODE biometric card issued by Sella Personal Credit on the Visa circuit has been developed in partnership with Idemia, a leader in identity technologies that draws on many years of design and implementation know-how in the payment card industry and with a proven track record in similar pilot projects worldwide.

The biometric cards can be used worldwide and are recognisable by any EMV-certified POS and ATM terminal.

"This new card enables authentication in a way that many people already use every day on their smartphones and underscores the Sella Group’s constant focus on offering increasingly cutting-edge solutions to meet renewed personal needs. The partnership with Idemia and Visa confirms this vision, which aims to enrich our customers’ payment experience while ensuring simplicity and security," said Giorgio Orioli, CEO and General Manager of Sella Personal Credit.

"At Idemia, we are convinced that digital and payment innovation will change the way people shop by making the payment experience easier, more convenient and secure. We are delighted to leverage our long experience in biometrics and to actively participate in the deployment of the first biometric card in Italy in the VISA circuit. We look forward to shaping the future of payments with our partner Sella," concluded Aaron Davis, SVP – Financial Institutions, Europe, Idemia.