Oslo, Norway – 17 March 2021 - IDEX Biometrics ASA, a leading provider of advanced fingerprint identification and authentication solutions, have been selected, to be the strategic technology partner, by Goldpac Group Ltd (Goldpac), on their Digital Currency/Electronic Payment (DC/EP) hardware-based digital wallet (hardware wallet) initiative. IDEX has also received a new order for fingerprint sensors to support this initiative.
DC/EP is the name given to the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) of China and is the digital version of the yuan, China's national currency. A CBDC involves using blockchain technology to represent a country's official currency, meaning it is regulated by a central bank unlike popular existing cryptocurrencies. DC/EP is backed by yuan deposits held by China's central bank. China plans to roll out DC/EP ahead of the Winter Olympics which are being held in China in February 2022, and will be used for purchases in all sectors across the country.

DC/EP has already been piloted in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Xiong’an, potentially reaching over 42 million people. By planning and building an infrastructure for mass digital payments, online or offline, China will be providing a solution for the millions of unbanked and underbanked people in China. The hardware wallet initiative will be especially beneficial to a large percentage of the population who do not have access to a smartphone, thereby helping to narrow the digital divide in financial services

The goals and objectives of DC/EP move from mass regional adoption within the next year to international reach shortly thereafter. As hardware wallets actually store currency, they require high levels of security in order to be successful. IDEX’s fingerprint biometric solutions enable the highest level of security possible.

“It is critical to have enhanced levels of security in our DC/EP hardware wallets and we believe that adding fingerprint technology from IDEX will provide industry leading levels of security,” said Hou Ping, CEO of Goldpac.

A well-functioning CBDC will require an extremely resilient and secure platform, with the ability to onboard, authenticate, and support users on a massive scale.

“We are excited to have been chosen by Goldpac to be their security partner on their DC/EP strategy,” said Vince Graziani, CEO of IDEX Biometrics. “With the Winter Olympics being under a year away Goldpac is moving ahead swiftly and have already placed an order with us.”