We aren't exactly lacking for new mobile payment services these days – yet another is coming from Samsung next month – but an option now being tested by biometric company Nymi in conjunction with MasterCard and TD Bank certainly stands out, in at least one respect. It uses a new prototype version of Nymi's wristband to let people make payments that are authenticated by their unique heartbeat.
Nymi says the first such payment was made on July 10, and that 100 TD Bank customers are now participating in a pilot program that will run through the end of the summer. The band itself has gotten an NFC upgrade for the trials, and supports MasterCard's contactless Tap & Go system, so it can already be used at a wide range of retail locations.
According to Nymi, additional Canadian banks are expected to launch similar pilot programs later this year, adding up to "several thousand payments" to be made using the Nymi Band. Beyond that, the company isn't offering many more specifics, like when it might be available to the general public.
While mobile payments are a new use for Nymi's wristband, the reliance on a person's heartbeat is not. That's the main selling point for the current version of the band (available only as a developer kit for now), which is designed to serve as a continuous authentication system for just about anything.
Via: Venture Beat
