News

Vietnam bank introduces fingerprint-enabled debit cards

August 9, 2012

Temenos, a provider of banking software, has announced the launch of Vietnam's first fingerprint-enabled debit card. Mekong Development Bank has implemented Temenos T24 biometric fingerprint authentication to provide access to banking services for Vietnam's unbanked.

Biometric authentication lowers the risk of fraudulent transactions, while providing a convenient banking service for Vietnam's 86 million citizens, only 20 percent of whom have a bank account. Since launching biometric authentication in June, Mekong Development Bank has tripled its account base.

With the Temenos solution, Mekong Development Bank captures the customer's fingerprint when an account is opened. This identifier can then be used at any of the bank's 33 NCR SelfServ ATMs across Vietnam. The service will be extended to other touchpoints in the near future, in keeping with Mekong Development Bank's proposition to make things simple for the customer.

"Temenos delivered us a state of the art capability in less than six months, which simply plugs into Temenos T24 — our existing core banking system," said Nicholas Chee, deputy CEO and head of consumer business at Mekong Development Bank. "Incorporating the technology at NCR SelfServ ATMs across Vietnam ensures that customers experience consistent biometric fingerprint capabilities throughout the country. Preliminary research shows that an overwhelming 91 percent of customers surveyed after activating their debit card would recommend that their family and friends sign up for the product."

Lee Volante, director of the business solution group for APAC at Temenos said, "Mekong Development Bank is a true pioneer in its adoption of this technology, which will help the bank to continue to build market share with its easy-to-use and convenient consumer technology. We're delighted that T24 biometrics is enabling this new banking paradigm in Vietnam."

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