NEW YORK, July 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME) – After many months of secret product development, SmartMetric has now under manufacture it’s new Biometric Credit Card designed to fight the burgeoning threat of online fraud.  Without revealing the specifics of the new biometric credit card that is expected to be unveiled in the next few weeks, SmartMetric says it has developed a new way to protect online transactions building on the company’s advanced, “inside-the-card” miniature fingerprint scanner.

Online card fraud or as it is called in the credit card industry, CNP (Card Not Present) fraud is experiencing double digit growth. 

Data from research company, Juniper Research has found that retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally from fraudulent CNP (Card-Not-Present) transactions over the next 5 years. *

“The SmartMetric solution to fight online CNP card fraud uses the power of its biometric technology platform in a simple and effective solution that doesn’t require changes to existing processing methods or payments infrastructure.  Further our biometric card solution can be used just effectively with debit cards as well as credit cards," said SmartMetric’s President & CEO Chaya Hendrick.

According to industry published figures, there are now 7.186 billion chip cards issued by banks globally.   This figure is based on reported figures for 2017.  Figures reported in Q4 of 2017 and represent the latest statistics from American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, Union Pay, and Visa, as reported by their member institutions globally. *

The SmartMetric biometric credit/debit card is designed specifically for use with Chip Cards.  Inside the SmartMetric biometric card is a fully functional fingerprint scanner that uses the card holders pre-stored fingerprint inside the card to match and then activate the card based on the cardholder’s fingerprint biometrics.

Safer and more secure than a pin number, the cardholders fingerprint is used to activate their enhanced secure credit card, adding increased protection from credit and debit card thieves.   Using the power of biometric technology that is built into the credit/debit card, a card users fingerprint is used to unlock the card as it is inserted into a card reader at a retail store or an ATM.   Simply touching the card, the card holders fingerprint is instantly scanned and matched with the prestored fingerprint inside the card.  In less than a second the users biometrics are scanned and matched allowing the card to then function as it is inserted into the card reader.

“Touch your card and your fingerprint biometrics instantly unlock the card in less than a second.  Safer than a password and so much easier and quicker than entering a PIN,” said today SmartMetric’s President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.

The SmartMetric miniaturized biometric fingerprint scanning technology has been engineered and developed by SmartMetric.

SmartMetric contracted an independent market research company. Results of the research show that eighty percent (80%) of existing credit card users surveyed said they are concerned about credit card and identity fraud.  The same research found that over sixty percent (60%) of the surveyed credit card users would pay $69.95 for a biometric secured credit card from their bank.

“Touch the card's surface and your card knows it is you and then is able to be used to access secure networks as well as giving you access to your secure office floor.  Using the same technology inside a chip credit or debit card, the card becomes a biometric secured card providing far more security than standard credit and debit cards that rely on PIN’s or signatures,” said SmartMetric’s President & CEO Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric has also created a multi-function combined cyber network access card, identity card and doorway building access card based on the company’s advanced miniature biometric fingerprint scanner technology inside the credit card sized card.

Access management market is estimated to grow from USD 8.09 billion in 2016 to USD 14.82 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 12.9% between 2016 and 2021 according to a recent research report by KBV Research.

To view the SmartMetric Biometric Card please follow this link -  Video of the SmartMetric Biometric Card . To view the company website:  www.smartmetric.com

SmartMetric is currently in talks with card issuing Banks in the United States, South America and Europe.  These talks are centering on the release of the biometric card made by SmartMetric as a premium card to be offered by Banks in connection with premium card offers.  The company also has commenced release of its biometric multi-functional security card in South America and has implementation discussions underway in the United States for both Government and Commercial use.

SmartMetric is a United States company with its head office in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It has a team of advanced engineers in Tel Aviv, Israel and has mass manufacturing capacity in various parts of the world.  The company can now manufacture 1 million cards a month and has the capacity to increase this capacity significantly based on product demand.

The SmartMetric biometric card is protected by five (5) recently “issued” patents.  Additional patents are pending.

To view a video of the SmartMetric card follow this link SmartMetric Biometric Card Video   (older card type)

To contact the representative for the SmartMetric biometric credit/security card within the USA please contact PROTEC Secure Card, Tracey Breckenridge at traceyb@protecsecurecard.com To view their website, www.protecsecurecard.com  

For more information concerning the new biometric secured credit and security card for South America please contact HOGIER GARTNER CIA S.A., Alvaro Gartner Valencia at alvaro.gartner@hogier.com   To view their website, www.hogier.com

* figures source: https://www.emvco.com/wp-content/uploads/2018...180327.pdf

* publication titled Identity & Access Management Market – Global Forecast by Marqual IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd (KBV Research) November 2016.  KBV Research is a name owned by IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

* https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-r...sent-fraud

Safe Harbor Statement:  Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Also such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A   of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, if we are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Contact Information

USA REPRESENTATIVE Protec Secure Card, LLC 80 Corbett Way Eatontown, NJ 07724, USA +1-732-542-0700 Sales: Tracey Breckenridge www.protecsecurecard.com

SOUTH AMERICA REPRESENTATIVE HOGIER GARTNER & CIA. S.A. Alvaro Gartner Valencia Gerente Comercial & Financiero Carrera 65, No. 80-16 Bogota D.C. 11121, Colombia Tel: +57. (1) 4378484 alvaro.gartner@hogier.com www.hogier.com

SmartMetric, Inc.  Head Office 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 500 Las Vegas, NV 89169 +1.702.990.3687 chaya@smartmetric.com www.smartmetric