IDEX Biometrics Enabling Smart Cards to be Issued by China Construction Bank

Oslo, Norway – 17 June 2021 - IDEX Biometrics ASA, a leading provider of advanced fingerprint identification and authentication solutions, is pleased to announce that China Construction Bank (CCB), one of the world’s largest banks and a leader in the development of China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) infrastructure, has expanded certain “digital renminbi” (数字人民币 in Chinese) trials to include the issuance of smart cards that are secured by IDEX Biometrics fingerprint sensors and biometric software.

These smart cards will serve as digital “hard wallets” for participants in CCB’s DCEP pilots, which to date have involved the deployment of “soft wallets” in the form of mobile phone applications.  DCEP is an encrypted, digital version of the renminbi, China’s national currency, and represents legal tender administered by the People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank. A digital renminbi hard wallet resembles a conventional dual-interface smart card, with secure processing, encrypted memory, and near-field communication capabilities in the secure element. The card’s stored value is further secured with advanced fingerprint recognition and authentication provided by IDEX Biometrics. This enhanced level of integrated, dedicated security gives sponsoring organizations such as CCB the confidence to allow higher transaction limits and higher stored balances on card-based “hard wallets” than allowed on vulnerable phone-based “soft wallets”. Users are afforded both ease of use and a high level of protection. 

“As the DCEP initiative continues to evolve, there is a significant market opportunity for offline hardware wallets protected by fingerprint biometrics,” said IDEX Chief Executive Officer, Vince Graziani. “Low cost and easy to use hardware wallets are the perfect solution for enabling the DCEP initiative to reach those who do not have access to a smartphone or a bank, who would be otherwise left behind in a digital currency world. The emerging hardware wallet application is an incremental market opportunity beyond the already large market for biometric payment cards.”  

For further information contact:
Marianne Bøe, Investor Relations
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +47 9180 0186

About IDEX Biometrics
IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX and Nasdaq: IDBA) is a leading provider of fingerprint identification technologies offering simple, secure, and personal touch-free authentication for all.  We help people make payments, prove their identity, gain access to information, unlock devices, or gain admittance to buildings with the touch of a finger. We invent, engineer, and commercialize these secure, yet incredibly user-friendly solutions.  Our total addressable market represents a fast growing multi-billion-unit opportunity.
For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com and follow on Twitter @IDEXBiometrics

TRADEMARK STATEMENT
The wordmark ‘IDEX’ and the IDEX logo are registered trademarks of IDEX ASA. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act