Thursday April 12, 9:05 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: International Biometric Group

IFC Engages International Biometric Group to Develop Plans for Large Scale Financial Services Based On Biometrics

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2001--The International Finance Corporation, the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the developing world, has engaged International Biometric Group to develop plans for large scale, biometrically enabled financial service infrastructures. The goal is to provide accessible, secure and reliable financial services in developing countries.

``In South Africa, mobile banks fitted out with biometrics have allowed rural populations that were previously denied bank accounts to have access to banking that is both convenient and secure,'' stated Kumiko Yoshinari, Principal Advisor at IFC. ``If applied on a wider scale, biometrics have the potential to bring out all those savings from under mattresses into the formal banking system. These funds can then be channeled into productive uses. Biometrics may be one technology in which poorer countries will leap-frog industrialized nations.''

International Biometric Group will formulate plans for design and deployment of the biometric service offerings and coordinate amongst various technology developers, integrators and financial services organizations. ``Traditional banking methods based on cards, PINs and account numbers are simply not effective in many developing countries,'' said Raj Nanavati, Partner with International Biometric Group. ``By providing increased accessibility and customer convenience via biometric technologies, IFC can overcome a major hurdle to the effective distribution of basic financial services such as pension benefits, savings accounts and health insurance.''

Biometrics are technologies that verify a person's identity based upon physiological or behavioral characteristics. These technologies provide a secure, easy to use, and cost-effective alternative to passwords, keys and tokens. Millions of citizens, employees, and customers use biometrics in applications such as network access, government benefits, e-commerce, ATMs, driver's licenses, and physical access. Commonly used biometric technologies include finger-scan, voice-scan, facial recognition and hand-scan.

The mission of IFC (www.ifc.org), part of the World Bank Group (www.worldbank.org) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.

Contact:

International Biometric Group, New York
Raj Nanavati, 212-809-9491