Authorize payment transactions by simply placing your finger on your credit card, securely and quickly. Sella is launching a trial of a biometric recognition credit card that, thanks to a small chip sensor, allows people to make payments by using their fingerprints.

The rollout of the new card, providing biometric verification for both direct and contactless payments, is led by Sella Personal Credit, the company of the Sella group specializing in credit to families, through a pilot project involving a selected target of customers in Italy.

Each customer receives a kit containing a particular device ("sleeve"), allowing for the enrollment of their fingerprint on the card in complete autonomy in a few simple steps, without having to go to the bank branch. Once acquired the fingerprint, the card is ready for use and requires no batteries: the biometric chip is powered directly by the POS in case of contact payments and through a magnetic field for contactless transactions. It will be sufficient to place your finger on the biometric chip on the front of the card to have a payment securely authorized.

The new F. CODE biometric card issued by Sella Personal Credit on the Visa scheme is developed in partnership with IDEMIA, a world leader in Identity Technologies with multi-year know-how of design and implementation in the payment card sector and a proven track record in similar pilot projects worldwide.

The biometric cards can be used worldwide and are recognizable by any EMV-certified POS and ATM terminal.

"This new card enables a recognition mode that daily, is already in use by many people on their smartphones. At the same time, it highlights the Group's constant focus on offering increasingly cutting-edge solutions to meet renewed personal needs", says Giorgio Orioli, CEO and General Manager of Sella Personal Credit. "The collaboration with IDEMIA and Visa confirms this vision, aiming to enrich our customers' payment experience while ensuring simplicity and security."

"At IDEMIA, we are convinced that digital and innovation in payment will change how people shop and pay by bringing more convenience and security to the payment experience. Alongside our long-standing knowledge and expertise in Biometrics for decades, we are thrilled to participate in the deployment of the first biometric card in Italy issued on the VISA Scheme and look forward to shaping the future of payments with our partner Sella" says Aaron Davis, SVP – Financial Institutions, Europe at IDEMIA.