Ahold tests paying with fingertip

Ahold's Albert Heijn store in Breukelen (the Netherlands) will begin testing a new fingertip payment method for the next six months. The retailer has partnered with Equens, makers of the Tip2Pay system. Ahold, as well as other retailers, are enthusiastically awaiting the results of the testing – the first of its kind in the Netherlands.

The biometrics payment system was successful in both the US and UK starting in 2006. However, Solidus Networks (dba Pay by Touch), the company that processed biometric transactions, filed for bankruptcy in the December 2007 forcing merchants to discontinue the service. Solidus stated the reason for closing shop being "lack of funding" and "market conditions."

Biometrics requires both hardware and software. The hardware is pricey, and it does need to be replaced periodically. Installing in the grocery lanes also took money. Each lane in each store had to be outfitted. Pay By Touch had to be ready for the different POS versions the stores were running - IBM, NCR or Retalix - always with some different configuration or customization.

In the end, there were not enough consumers using the system to pay for the system. Some analysts feel that until we see a broader switch from existing plastic cards to new tokens (possibly mobile phones?) there won't be widespread acceptance of biometrics for payment purposes.

Note: The recently opened Metro Real Future Store, located in Toenisvorst (Germany), also offers Pay by Fingerprint.