Tech powerhouse Hitachi and fellow Japanese-headquartered telecommunication giant KDDI are testing a blockchain-based system that could settle retail payments by using shoppers’ fingerprints.
The idea has a very modest test base – a coupon settlement system this week in a KDDI store in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district and, er, a local donut shop – but could have much wider implications for the next steps in commercial applications of blockchain-supported Digital Identity, as the ultimate idea is a secure platform that can keep customer data updated in multiple stores simultaneously.
Based on the Hyperledger Fabric platform, the blockchain is hooked up to the company’s biometric verification software and interlinked with the KDDI coupon shopping system; when shoppers sign up during the trial, they register both their coupon credits and biometric information, which is then encrypted and stored on the blockchain.
You can test your working knowledge of Japanese by reading the original release from the pair here – but also remember issues around blockchain in commercial usage is likely to be a feature at the upcoming (late November) Think Digital Identity For Government 2018 conference in Westminster.
