April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s two leading information technology service providers Samsung SDS and LG CNS are vying for leadership in biometric authentication solutions.

LG CNS recently said that it would apply the finger vein authentication solutions of LG Hitachi -- a joint venture between LG Group and Japan’s Hitachi -- to BNK Busan Bank’s automatic teller machines as a pilot service. 

The finger vein authentication solution, which was applied for the first time to automatic teller machines in South Korea, is a technology that identifies customers via the moving pattern of hemoglobin inside blood vessel of the finger. This authentication solution is much simpler than iris or face recognition and more difficult to forge because it senses information within the body, the company said.

“After running the pilot service for a month, we plan to expand it to 10 more banks in Busan city in October. The service is also expected to be available in malls or marts in other cities next year,” LG CNS’ official told The Korea Herald.

LG CNS plans to continue to unveil similar authentication services in partnership with other companies, which possess original biometric technologies, the official added. 

LG CNS's vein authentication solutions

LG Hitachi’s new business strategy division chief Lee Seok-hee said, the company plans to expand the service into smartphones.

LG CNS’ rival Samsung SDS, which provides its FIDO solutions to Samsung Electronics’ mobile payment service Samsung Pay, is also making a strong push for the mobile authentication business.

Samsung SDS is a member of Fast Identify Online, or the FIDO Alliance, a global consortium seeking standardization among different authentication devices for biometric authentication.

Last month, the tech firm partnered with German firm G&D to provide its mobile biometric solutions to its clients.

In May, the company inked a partnership with India’s mobile banking service giant EdgeVerve Systems, which offers its financial solution to 547 million clients in 84 nations. Samsung aims to expand its FIDO solution into the clients through the partnership.

Industry watchers said although Samsung and LG are spurring developments in mobile authentication solutions, their technologies are still at a nascent stage in the global market.

"Samsung SDS and LG CNS do not have significant influence in the global mobile authentication market yet. But, they are expected to continue to make investments as the market has potential to grow in areas such as public markets, communications and logistics ,” said Kim Jong-dae, a senior researcher at LG Economic Research Institute.

The global biometric authentication market is expected to grow to $33 billion by 2020 from $2.6 billion last year, according to market research firm AMI.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com) / The Korea Herald