TaluCard Unveils Biometric Payment Card, App for Visually Impaired Consumers

TaluCard plans to launch a physical biometric payment card and complementary app designed to provide an accessible and secure payment solution for users with visual impairments.

Developed in collaboration with IDEX Biometrics and an unnamed London-based issuer, the card is expected to be introduced in the United Kingdom in late 2024, according to a Wednesday (Aug. 14) press release.

The TaluCard payment card features fingerprint authentication, tactile guidance markers that help users locate the fingerprint sensor, and the ability to make contactless transactions without PINs or signatures, the release said.

The TaluCard app that supports the card includes proprietary access technology offering discreet audio feedback that helps visually impaired users verify transaction details securely and privately, according to the release.

Together, these solutions aim to serve the 2.3 million people in the U.K. who have some form of visual impairment, per the release.

TaluCard is compliant with the U.K. Consumer Duty and Accessibility laws and the European Accessibility Act, which is set to take effect in 2025, according to the release.

“We share the conviction with TaluCard that digital and financial inclusion is critical for economic growth and should be a key priority for banks and FinTechs,” IDEX Biometrics Chief Commercial Officer Catharina Eklof said in the release.

Steve Tyler, director of assistive technology at Leonard Cheshire and former head of strategy at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said in the release: “TaluCard is a groundbreaking solution that instantly removes some of the challenges of payment experiences; through the simple expedient of seamless biometric identification, there is no need to be concerned about misuse of a card or handling unusual or inaccessible point-of-sale solutions.”

Biometric authentication continues to gain prominence due to the convenience and security it offers, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Biometric Authentication in the Age of Mobile.”

Twenty-eight percent of consumers said fingerprint scans or facial recognition are their preferred authentication method, with younger generations using biometrics for convenience and older consumers using the technology to enhance security, the report found.