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Blockchain-based QuantumCrypt enables users to be identified without biometric information being stored on a centralized system-reducing the risk of highly sensitive data falling into the hands of hackers. It takes iris, fingerprints, and 2D face scans and converts them into a unique biometric code for identification. Eliminating the need for electronic storage is said to make this technology more cost effective for Internet of Things applications, without compromising on security.

The Bank of Thailand announced that ten financial institutions are participating in its regulatory sandbox project to test-run the use of e-kyc (electronic know your customer) biometric technology to verify customer identities.

The Postal Savings Bank of China has reportedly created a biometric hardware wallet for the People's Bank of China central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. The new wallet enables easy identity verification for users via fingerprint sensors on the card to provide easier access to the CBDC and healthcare services for the elderly without needing to use smartphones.

The Kiva Protocol, launched on Wednesday by the Sierra Leonean government and Kiva, the Silicon Valley microloan company, is a biometric system that links a person's thumbprint with their identity. It will allow the west African country to create a universal credit bureau for the first time, with its backers hoping it will spur lending by banks reluctant to loan to people without credit histories.

The U.S. government needs a stimulus payment system that ensures the policy objectives are met. It could be based on programmable eMoney ("digital dollars") or eVouchers that are time-stamped, purpose-limited, and even location-limited to prevent users from hoarding them. Loans to small businesses could be tied to payroll or capital expenditure. Such eMoney or eVouchers could be sent or received directly to users' eWallet accounts and settled over an automated clearing house.

"ExtoPay extends the reach of mobile payment, digital banking, and cross-border payment service providers in emerging markets to 1.5 B users who don't have mobile connectivity. ExtoPay combines the low cost and secure ExtoWallet Biometric Smart Cards provisioned with Distributed Ledger Technologies to support offline Bluetooth based card-to-card or card-to-phone payments. ExtoPay supports fiat, CBDC, and Cryptocurrency payments using a patent-pending Intermittent Network Architecture. This system addresses the recovery of funds due to lost or damaged cards and protects against counterfeit card attacks. "

Visa is investing in MagicCube, a payments-security fintech focused on enabling devices like smartphones to accept payments. In lieu of buying checkout hardware, merchants could use smartphones to read contactless cards while securely capturing financial PIN and other verification methods, including biometrics. The solution provides end-to-end functionality, security, and modern acceptance capabilities previously limited to hardware-based terminals. The entirely software-based solution offers a plug-and-play, fully contained module that can fit into the current flows of any modern acquiring bank or merchant acceptance solution.

BitMEX launched a mobile trading app in 140 countries, two weeks after BitMEX's first-ever identity verification requirement was announced. Built completely in-house, the mobile trading product closely matches the desktop experience, including biometric unlocks and fingerprint scanning, and it is already up and running.

Kenya's interior ministry has suspended the local activities of the Worldcoin crypto-asset project while government agencies assess potential risks to public safety. The project launched on July 24, 2023. It requires users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID, and in some countries users also get free crypto-assets as part of plans to create a new identity and financial network. France and Germany have also raised concerns around the legality of the biometric data collection and storage.

Amazon One is a payment system offered by Amazon. It is based on biometrics and works by reading users' palm print.[1][2][3] It is used by retailers like Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go and Amazon Go Grocery,[4] as well as third-party retailers who purchased the technology from Amazon.

"Global actors, led by the World Bank, are energetically promoting biometric and other digital ID systems that are increasingly linked to large-scale human rights violations, especially in the Global South. A report by researchers at New York University warns that these systems, promoted in the name of development and inclusion, might be achieving neither. Rather than the equitable digital future envisioned by the World Bank and its Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative, the report argues that "despite undoubted good intentions on the part of some, [these systems] may well be paving a digital road to hell.""

"IDEMIA and ConsenSys have joined forces to offer a truly inclusive Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) solution that can work with any consumer device: smartphones of course, but also feature phones, biometric payment cards, sim cards, wearables and even connected machines, making CBDC available to everyone."

The European Central Bank (ECB) published the findings of its research on citizens' payment habits and their attitudes towards digital payments in order to gain a deeper understanding of user preferences as part of the digital euro project. It found that citizens want universally accepted payment methods in online and physical stores across Europe, instant and contactless person-to-person payments, and a one-stop-solution that would incorporate all the current payment options into one system. Respondents, also sought guarantees against fraud and hacking, as well as secure and reliable payment authentication methods. Biometric methods of payment verification were widely supported by participants, while flexible and adjustable privacy settings were seen as desirable.

Idemia is working with Qualcomm to offer users offline payments on smartphones for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) through the Snapdragon 8-series Mobile Platform which requires a Qualcomm Secure Processor Unit. Customers can make payments with traditional cards, biometric cards, smart phones, or smart watches. Idemia has already demonstrated offline CBDC on different payment devices. Now it can handle credentials and conduct payments offline, leveraging an integrated secure element in users' phones.

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) unveiled its Convego TruSafe self hosted cryptocurrency wallet solution, which it aims to distribute via banks. It combines a mobile wallet app with a smart card that looks like a debit card and acts as cold wallet storage. If someone loses the card, it's recoverable by splitting your private key into pieces or shards. One is held on the card, one by your bank and one by G+D. If the card is lost, a new one can be ordered and authenticated and activated through the mobile app, and access to the digital assets on the lost card regained. A wallet holder must use biometrics to request a new card, which recreates the key behind the scenes. https://www.gi-de.com/en/group/press/press-releases/from-complexity-to-simplicity-g-d-provides-seamless-and-secure-self-custody-of-digital-assets