Comarch and Bank Pekao SA place their bets on biometrics

June 23, 2010 - PRLog -- The implementation of Comarch’s biometric mechanisms by Bank Pekao SA has been a great success. Thanks to the implementation, users of the bank’s transactional internet platform can log into the system and authorize tasks using their fingerprints. The project uses Comarch’s new SmartCard Bio, which is fitted with biometric applets, card and fingerprint readers integrated in one small device.

The use of biometrics in electronic banking sees the fingerprint as an element, which guards against access to the private key, which is stored on the cryptographic card (equivalent of the card PIN). The fingerprint secures access to the whole content of the cryptographic card independently from the number of keys stored on the card. The user has three options which he may choose from to access the private key: fingerprint ID, user PIN and a combination of the two. Any option, from those listed above, can be chosen using the internet banking system.

‘The use of cryptographic cards is a recommended solution because it is a reliable method of authentication and authorization which uses the electronic signature. We have decided to link our cryptographic cards with the biometric mechanism to make them easier to use by their owners. The user does not have to remember the card PIN as there is no need to enter it every time when logging into the system or authorizing a transaction. All the user needs to do is use his finger which unblocks access to the card,’ Tomasz Sniezynski, Comarch IT Security Consulting Director, explains. ‘Our priority is to deliver easy to use solutions for every user’, Sniezynski adds.

The biometric method of logging in and authorizing transactions used by Bank Pekao SA in their corporate banking internet service was accredited by the panel judges from the V Congress of e-Economy (Kongres Gospodarki Elektronicznej), in the competition for the project of the year. The aim of the competition’s organizers was to give merit to an institution or person whose activity helps to develop the electronic economy and IT society in Poland.

‘Modern transactional banking is chiefly based on innovations. We are always trying to be a step ahead of the competition and to be the first to deliver the best, most modern and safest solutions to our Clients. We have decided to authorize tasks in the PekaoBIZNES24 system using fingerprint ID readers. Thanks to the integrated Comarch SmartCard Bio, Bank Pekao SA clients are the first in Poland to use a biometric method of logging in and authorizing internet banking transactions for corporations’, Piotr Dusza, Bank Pekao SA E-Channels Director, underlines.

# # #

Comarch is a software house and IT services company that specializes in innovative IT solutions for the Financial Services industries. Our solutions cover billing, ERP, IT security, CRM and loyalty management, EDI, sales support and business intelligence.