Cardholder verification methods
The cardholder must authorize the operations of creating/restoring a wallet, signing a transaction, getting a public key, changing PIN or wiping a card. App providers have the flexibility to preconfigure the number of authorization factors required to pass these operations or leave the choice to the user in the App interface.
The cardholder verification method (CVM) can be one of the following:
- PIN code verification,
- on-card fingerprint verification,
- PIN code verification AND on-card fingerprint verification.
They are usually setup during the creation of a wallet. App providers have the flexibility to design the application flow and user interfaces to enable these verification methods.
Supporting for on-card fingerprint authentication is a unique differentiator for B.CHAIN. Both user experience and security are enhanced by choosing this verification method:
- user simply applies her finger on the card sensor to trigger an authorization,
- a lost or stolen card is protected by a biometric authentication.
User’s fingerprints enrollment on the card requires the use of a sleeve, which is included in the pack received by the customer. This enrollment device permits the cardholder to enroll the biometric template in an intuitive and user-friendly way.
Any operation such as signing a blockchain transaction would require the user to apply her fingerprint on the card sensor.
An IDEMIA algorithm matches the fingerprint put on the card’s fingerprint sensor, with the biometric template stored on the card’s chip during enrollment. The matching takes place “on the card” and the fingerprint never leaves the card to ensure privacy. No third party has access to the consumer fingerprint.
The user applies her fingerprint on the card sensor and taps her card on the back of her phone to exchange securely information via NFC with the App embedding the B.CHAIN SDK.