ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン Touch of a Finger LiquidInc. IP

Never worry about forgetting your credit card or wallet again. Liquid, Inc. is pioneering a new technology platform that allows consumers to pay with just the touch of their finger. By linking biometrics information to the consumer’s financial account, payment services can be transacted simply and securely.

Liquid, Inc. CEO Yasuhiro Kuda hit on the idea of biometric recognition when trying to split a bill among friends after an evening out: “It seemed strange that people needed something like a card that wasn’t part of their body,” he said. Kuda realized biometric authentication could offer more than mere convenience. Current authentication systems require some sort of intermediate device or information – a card, a smartphone, or a login password and ID. All of these can be compromised, he notes, while fingerprints and other biometric options provide much greater security.

Six months later, the young entrepreneur co-founded Tokyo-based Liquid, Inc. with the idea of using biometrics for authentication and payment services. Liquid’s technology, which has a domestic patent and will soon receive foreign patent protection as well, can support eye, face and fingerprint recognition, though initial applications of the technology utilize fingerprint recognition. Instead of manufacturing devices to capture biometric data, Liquid provides the platform to connect all aspects of the payment process, from authentication to transaction, via secure cloud-based servers.

Companies in Japan were not particularly receptive to Liquid in the beginning, however. “We made a demonstration model and started doing sales activities at various companies, but they scoffed at our idea and said we were crazy.”

Yet after Apple Inc. launched Apple Pay, a service based on fingerprint technology, in 2014, Liquid's proposals started to look more sane, and the timing proved fortuitous. "Companies that previously dismissed our technology now called us back and said they wanted to learn more," says Kuda.

Liquid’s technology has already found several applications in Japan. The Kyushu-based amusement park Huis Ten Bosch adopted Liquid’s platform for payment services. Upon entering the park, patrons can register by inputting their name and phone number, then depositing a certain amount of money. After that, debit payments can be made at concession stands and gift stores using a fingerprint reader.