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Cash Tech, MP3.Com and Sensar to pilot Internet ATM card purchases
LOS ANGELES -- Cash Technologies, Inc. has reached agreements with MP3.com, Inc., which offers a collection of digital music on the Internet, and Sensar, Inc., a leading manufacturer of iris recognition products, to pilot the use of ATM cards to purchase music products at MP3's Web site. The pilot will utilize Sensar's iris recognition devices and Cash Tech's EMMA transaction processing system. MP3 customers participating in the pilot will use their bank ATM card to shop securely over the Internet. The use of Sensar's iris camera at the customer's PC will eliminate the need to send PIN numbers over the Internet, removing a key stumbling block that has prevented the use of ATM cards on the Internet until now. "Today nearly half of the US population and one fourth of those who qualify do not have credit cards," said Bruce Korman, chairman and CEO of Cash Technologies. "Additionally, credit card and password fraud has victimized millions of online customers. To support the continued explosive growth in Internet shopping and make online services available to the widest possible audience, a secure method to authorize financial transactions, particularly the use of ATM cards for purchases over the Internet, is essential." Participating MP3 customers will enroll for the pilot, which is slated to take place during the first quarter of 2000, at an iris-enabled ATM supplied by Diebold. Thereafter, when the customer wants to purchase products from MP3's website, a small handheld camera manufactured by Sensar, which plugs into the customer's PC, will take a picture of his or her iris and return the encoded information to MP3 over the Internet. MP3 in turn passes the information to Cash Tech's EMMA system to authenticate the customer and process the transaction through the ATM networks. Within seconds, an approval is returned by EMMA to MP3 and the customer can then receive the requested MP3 product in the usual way. "Credit card penetration is particularly low amongst the teenage population despite their tremendous buying power," said Robin Richards, president of MP3.com. "We believe that providing a method for MP3 customers to use ATM debit cards to purchase our online products is another way that MP3 can expand its customer base and help advance the digital music revolution." Eventually Sensar's inexpensive handheld cameras, which will double as "Web cams" or video conferencing cameras, are expected to be distributed by banks, e-commerce providers and online securities trading firms. The EMMA/Sensar system requires no changes from the ATM networks or card issuers, will accept virtually all standard bank ATM cards and can be implemented easily by Internet commerce companies on their Web sites.
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