In the USA, members of a South Florida’s credit union, Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, are using biometric access control to access safe deposit boxes at three branches.
There are plans to add the hand reader units at several to-be-built branches.
In the same way Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and other credit unions throughout North America have used the HandKey product, from manufacturer Recognition Systems, for entering deposit box vaults, the units at Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union automatically take a three-dimensional reading of the size and shape of a hand and verify the member’s identity in less than one second.
What they say
Mark Holmes, Vice President of Marketing for Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, said: "We wanted to streamline our services and increase security for our safe deposit box areas. The HandKey units provide easy, safe access to the safe deposit boxes. Now, members can let themselves in without waiting for someone to assist them."
HandKeys are placed in front of the door to the safe deposit area at credit union branches located in Boca Raton, Countryside, and Pembroke Pines in South Florida. Only one member at a time is allowed in the safe deposit vault. Eastern Financial officials report that they considered other security measures, including alternative biometric technologies, but opted for hand geometry. Members need only present their hand and a personal identification number (PIN).
"We contemplated swipe cards, but people lose cards and very often put their PIN on the card, even though they are warned not to do so," says Alex Pinsky, Vice President of Corporate Services for the credit union. "Biometrics also can’t be comprised, but we felt that iris or retinal scans were too invasive. Hand geometry was comparatively simple and it wasn’t intimidating to our members."
So far the credit union reports that it has found the HandKey units to be stable and user friendly. Feedback has also been favorable from members of all ages, Pinsky adds. Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union is using the HandKey units with the PassVault biometric-based, self-service safe deposit box system developed by Diebold.
