Toronto-based Bionym recently raised $14 million and stated its Nymi smartband has seen over 10,000 pre-orders. Nymi Band that uses a unique heartbeat for authentication and acts as your universal passcode.
Today, Bionym is taking the utility of the Nymi band even further with the introduction of a pilot program for biometrically authenticated payments with a trial that will allow RBC customers to make payments using their MasterCard and the Nymi band, with authentication provided via ECG.
This latest evolution of Bionym’s wearable aims to bring users a faster, easier way to pay while reducing the risk associated with other forms of contactless payments. The announcement was made during Money2020 in Las Vegas and applications for the pilot project are now being accepted through Bionym’s website. Though the announcement contained the name of just two partners (MasterCard and RBC), Bionym indicates that this pilot will be a ‘multibank trial’ so we’ll likely hear about the participation of other financial institutions in the coming weeks. The company says the trial will be launched before the end of this year.
“Payments is a great use-case for persistent identity, because making the experience seamless for consumers is just as important as providing the trust and security that only you can authorize a payment with your account. This could be unlike any other next generation payment mechanism.” Said Andrew D’Souza, President of Bionym. “We are excited to work to bring the world’s first biometrically authenticated wearable payment solution to market.”
Bionym currently has about 40 employees and will use the funds to expand the team and also “build strategic partnerships across a variety of industries.”
