News

Japanese bank to use biometrics to boost ATM security

February 23, 2004

TOKYO - Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, one of Japan's top four banks, plans to introduce a new biometric security system for ATMs which can identify customers from the pattern of veins in their hands.

According to an AFP report, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said it will start equipping its ATMs with the new system later this year. The bank said the move is part of its effort to fight ATM fraud.

The new system has an infra-red sensor which reads, without contact, the pattern of veins in a customer's palm, a bank official said in the report.

"Like finger prints, the vein patterns are different depending on individuals," the Tokyo-Mitsubishi official said. "We have concluded that the sensor is one of the best ways to boost security."

The bank declined to disclose further details of the plan, including the cost of the project or which company had supplied the system. Several Japanese electronics and computer companies, including Fujitsu Ltd., have developed security systems based on the reading of vein patterns.