Hitachi Trials Blockchain to Settle Retail Payments Using Just Fingerprints

Japan-based tech conglomerate Hitachi and telecommunication giant KDDI are testing a blockchain-based system that can settle retail payments validated using shoppers' fingerprints.

Built by Hitachi with technology from the Hyperledger Fabric platform, the blockchain system is integrated with Hitachi's biometric verification and KDDI's existing coupon system.

It seeks to settle shoppers' coupon transactions over a distributed network using their fingerprints as validators.

When initiating a transaction at a retail shop that accepts the coupons and participates in the blockchain as a node, shoppers will verify their identity with a fingerprint reading device that broadcasts the request to the network and the transaction is settled.

Hitachi said the end goal is to use a tamper-proof blockchain to assist in verifying users' fingerprints and to keep their coupon usage information accurate and updated across stores within the network simultaneously.

"As a result, users can authenticate themselves by holding the finger on the authentication infrastructure, so it is not necessary to present a coupon at the store, and the coupon can be used even without a smartphone," the company said in the release.

The project is the latest pilot test taken by Hitachi to utilize a blockchain platform in retail transactions.

Last year, the company also announced it is developing a blockchain platform for supply chain businesses to manage orders and invoices on an immutable ledger.

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