Call them two great biometric authentication innovators that innovate great together.
In a newly-announced partnership, Finovate alums EyeVerify and Daon will work together to integrate EyeVerify’s Eyeprint ID into Daon’s IdentityX authentication platform. The integration marks the first time eye recognition-based biometric technology has been available on Daon’s flagship solution. “Daon has a long history of meeting the multi-model authentication needs for companies and their customers across the world,” EyeVerify VP of Financial Solutions, Paige Bailey said. She added that EyeVerify, a multiple Finovate Best of Show winner was “thrilled” to have its technology available to a wider number of FIs via Daon’s IdentityX platform.
EyeVerify published a study last month that showed people who use biometrics (i.e., Touch ID users) want to see more biometric technology available for banking and payments. The study further noted that those who use fingerprint authentication at least once a day or more were twice as likely to want more biometric options and to see biometrics as a more secure alternative to other authentication regimes.
“Most people use some form of biometrics every day, but they want more opportunities to use it to make their lives easier and more secure,” EyeVerify CEO Toby Keith explained when the company’s Retail Banking Biometrics Confidence Report was published in May. “Banks and payment providers have a huge opportunity right now to build brand trust by giving customers the user experience they want,” he said.
Calling the partnership with EyeVerify an opportunity to offer “real advantage to our customers,” Daon CEO Tom Grissen counted EyeVerify’s EyeprintID among the “best-of-breed authentication technologies.” He said that teaming up with companies like EyeVerify was a “win-win,” adding, “our partners win through fast access to our large global customer base, our customers win by having rapid access to innovative technologies, and we win as the IdentityX platform grows as a thriving and innovative ecosystem.”
The partnership announcement was made at the Money 20/20 Europe event in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Founded in 2012, EyeVerify specializes in biometric authentication based on a technology called an “eyeprint,” and uses the front-facing camera of the average smartphone to capture the unique pattern of veins and other “micro-features” in the human eye. Believed to be every bit as unique as an individual’s fingerprints, eyeprint technology offers a “99.99% accurate and extremely scalable” alternative or addition to passwords when it comes to providing authentication. The technology has been deployed by three of the largest Android OEMs in the world, and dozens of financial institutions. EyeVerify was acquired by Ant Financial, the online and mobile financial services provider behind Alipay, in the fall of 2016. The company, which made its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateEurope 2017, is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.
Daon made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016, demonstrating its IdentityX platform. The company’s mobile biometric authentication platform provides a variety of biometric options including fingerprint, facial, and voice recognition. IdentityX can also combine biometrics with other measures like device binding and geolocation to provide an even more rigorous authentication solution. The company announced in May that it was integrating its technology with fellow Finovate alum Experian’s fraud and identity platform, CrossCore. In March, Philippines-based UnionBank announced that it would leverage IdentityX to bring fingerprint and facial recognition authentication to its new digital banking platform, EON. Read more about the company in our Finovate Debut profile from December.