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Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. reportedly plans to introduce a finger-vein payment system in Japan in 2009. Hitachi and Japan-based card firm JCB International Credit Card Co. Ltd. reportedly tested the system last year at a Hitachi employee cafeteria in Japan. Neither JCB nor Hitachi responded by CardLine Global's deadline to a request for comments about the report, which appeared in the Japanese press. The system would require credit cardholders to link their finger-vein patterns to their accounts, enabling participants to use their fingers for payments at such venues as gyms, hotels and golf courses. Some banks in Japan already use palm-vein patterns to authenticate consumers making transactions at ATMs, and Japan's postal savings bank has issued cards that store customers' finger-vein patterns (CardLine Global, 23 Nov. 2007). Such products speak to the general Japanese desire for hygiene, enabling consumers to make payments and withdrawals without touching dirty screens.
