Idex wins deal with Mastercard for life after chip and pin
TECH FIRM Idex has won a deal with Mastercard for its fingerprint sensor technology which will be used by the credit card firm for its next generation of smart cards.
Idex, which is headed up by Harrogate-based Hemant Mardia, the former CEO of Filtronic, said the deal is the next step beyond the era of chip and pin.
Following successful trials in South Africa, the fingerprint scanning technology is expected be available on credit cards early next year.
Cards using the new technology are inserted into existing payment terminals which will match a customer’s own fingerprint with the one stored on the card. The technology is secure and the fingerprint never leaves the card.
The Idex technology uses touch sensitive fingerprint sensors, similar to those used in the latest smart phones, and can be used on wet or dry fingers.
Shares in Idex have jumped in value by nearly £82m since the news was announced, which has seen the value of stakes held by UK shareholders such as the Patient Capital Trust, run by fund manager Neil Woodford, and Invesco Perpetual increase by 24 per cent. Mr Woodford’s 26 per cent investment in Idex is now worth over £110m, whist Invesco holds 16 per cent of the company.
Dr Mardia, chief executive of Idex, has a long history of involvement with innovating electronics in Yorkshire, having been CEO of Yorkshire based Filtronic for four years, a company that he first joined after completing his Ph.D in electronics at Leeds University.
Idex was founded in 1996.