Paying by card has become, for many people, something habitual, so much so that, in many cases, this payment method has almost completely displaced the use of cash. Personally, I must say that I am one of those people. I always carry money with me in case the card fails, but I use this whenever I can, and I only do without it when the amount to pay is too small.
In my case, and I suppose in many others too, paying with a card is more comfortable and faster to pay in cash. It has also allowed me to reduce contact with other people, something important with the COVID-19 pandemic still doing its thing, and it allows me to forget about having to go to the ATM to withdraw money. In the end, it is more comfortable, and partly safer.
The fact is that Samsung has developed a new and interesting solution that could significantly improve the security of card payments, a security chip identified as S3B512C which is presented as an all-in-one solution, that is, it integrates all the security elements in a single chip.
According to the news source, the S3B512C chip integrates a fingerprint sensor, a security feature that prevents tampering, and meets all international security requirements, and a secure processor. The chip collects the user’s biometric data through its fingerprint sensor, stores and authenticates using the security element and then analyzes the data through the secure processor.
Pay by card without fear of fraudulent transactions
That is the main objective of this new Samsung solution, to reinforce the security of card payments, and to add a layer of protection that could be very useful when a card is lost or stolen. If we find ourselves in that situation, the thief could not pay by card because it has the user’s fingerprint registered.
I know what you’re thinking, what if you try to activate the card with an artificial fingerprint that mimics the cardholder’s? In theory it would not be viable, since the security chip It has technology that prevents identity theft, and that it can detect those kinds of fingerprints. Very interesting, no doubt.
Samsung has confirmed that this new security chip is primarily intended to improve security when paying by card, but that it also could be integrated into other types of cards where a high level of authentication and security is required, such as those used by students and by certain professional profiles. On the other hand, it is clear that this technology could also be transferred to the automotive sector.
A promising solution, although at the moment we have no idea when it could start to be implemented. On the other hand, it seems that it would be limited to Mastercard cards, who has been offering its customers the possibility of using cards with a fingerprint reader for some time, although the solution they implement it is much less secure than this new option from Samsung.
