The Sunday Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune has an article titled "Pay by Touch's backers claim fingers burned" by reporter Matt McKinney that takes a look back at Pay By Touch. On March 19, 2008, Pay By Touch shuttered its biometric-based payment service.

The archive of Pay By Touch-related stories here on Payments News begins over four years ago. It's interesting to scroll back (read from the bottom up) and look at the various partnerships, financings, trials, etc. that Pay By Touch announced along the way prior to shuttering its biometrics payment service at 11:59 PM last night.   » Continue Reading

We've received the following announcement from Pay By Touch: "Solidus Networks, Inc., dba Pay By Touch, regretfully announced today that it will no longer process biometric transactions on behalf of its merchant customers and consumer membership base, as 11:59:59pm March 19, 2008."   » Continue Reading

Solidus Networks Inc., doing business as Pay By Touch, has announced a new Board of Directors: Art Petrie, Chairman; Eula Adams, John Morris, John Rogers, and Robert Sigler. According to the company, "the new Board is overseeing the structuring of a new executive team. Tom Lumsden serves as Chief Restructuring Officer, directing activities at Solidus Networks. Eula Adams continues as COO, Robert Sigler continues as CFO, and John Rogers, founder of the Company, now functions in a non-employee director role only."   » Continue Reading

Arik Hesseldahl reports for Business Week that "VeriFone has quietly expressed interest in buying the assets of Pay By Touch, a biometrics company currently in Chapter 11, according to court filings obtained by BusinessWeek.com."

Nicole Monroe Bell writes for the Charlotte Observer about loyalty cards going higher tech - delivering tailored coupons from kiosks to consumers as they enter stores.

West Texas National Bank has announced that it has adopted Pay By Touch's biometric check cashing service. Paycheck Secure powered by Pay By Touch lets consumers use a finger scan to quickly and securely identify themselves to cash a government or payroll check.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced the availability of a new Reward and Gift Card Kiosk that "enables retail customers to design, print and purchase personalized gift cards, and obtain loyalty program cards, without merchant personnel assistance."   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that it has formed a partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide to provide Pay By Touch with strategic and creative counsel to build a global Lovemark.   » Continue Reading

StoreNext Retail Technologies and Pay By Touch have announced an agreement under which the two companies will market and distribute Pay By Touch’s biometric authentication and payment service to independent grocers. The companies says that their joint solution "minimizes grocers’ transaction costs while allowing shoppers to pay for purchases with the simple touch of a finger."   » Continue Reading

Aite Group has announced a new report, Biometric Payments and Rewards: A Case Study, that provides an "in-depth review of the deployment of Pay By Touch technology at a grocery store named Green Hills." According to the report, "nine months after the introduction of Pay By Touch's SmartShop loyalty and payment solution, 25% of Green Hills' sales are made via biometric payments, and 28% of those are processed over the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network."   » Continue Reading

Becky Yerak reports for the Chicago Tribune on Pay By Touch, saying that the company "continues to attract financing and beef up its management ranks, recently adding a former Home Depot Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. executive to its payroll." Yerak interviewed Pay By Touch President John Morris who said "this is one of the rare times where you can deliver identity theft prevention for the shopper, better security in terms of fraud for the retailer and increased convenience."

Pay By Touch has announced that it has acquired S&H Solutions (S&H) and its parent company S&H greenpoints for a purchase price that was "in excess of $100 million in cash and stock." Pay By Touch sais the acquisition was "in keeping with its corporate strategy to acquire companies that complement its portfolio and provide future growth opportunities."   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that its Paycheck Secure service is now being offered to financial institutions. Paycheck Secure is a biometric check-cashing service that can help banks and credit unions generate additional non-interest fee-based income while decreasing the risk of fraud and meeting regulatory compliance requirements.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that Citibank Singapore has rolled out Pay By Touch's biometric payment services to its Citibank Clear Platinum cardholders. "Effective today, cardholders are invited to enroll in the biometric credit card service, and pay for goods and services with the touch of a finger."   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that Scott's Food & Pharmacy will be piloting finger-scan payment program at four of its stores in northeast Indiana.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced the debut of TrueMe, what the company claims is "the first secure, on-demand biometric authentication service on the Internet."   » Continue Reading

Philip Yam writes on the Scientific American blog about Pay by Touch - asking questions about whether fingerprints can be "spoofed", whether germs on the fingerprint reader might be a concern, and about privacy concerns. He concludes by discussing the economics of Pay by Touch's ACH-based payment system, noting that, according to a company rep he spoke with, "several Pay By Touch retailers have dropped credit transactions entirely for the cost savings."

Paul Gores reports for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that consumers in the Milwaukee area are increasingly accepting of technology that uses fingerprints to buy groceries. "It's very well received," said Juanita Kocanda, Jewel-Osco's manager of public affairs. "We get positive feedback, especially from the people who write checks, because it comes right out of your checking account and you don't have to write a check."

Pay By Touch has announced that 13 Mobile Gas Station Wallis Convenience Stores in Missouri are now capable of handling finger-scan payments. As an introductory offer, when customers sign up for the service at participating Mobil stores, they will receive a discount of 10 cents per gallon of gas purchased the first time they pay with their finger.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that it has been named to the AlwaysOn AO100 List as one of the top privately-held companies. The AO100 List recognizes the 100 most innovative and successful private firms in the United States based on market potential, customer adoption and investor value.   » Continue Reading

A new payments consortium called PASS (Payments As a Secure Service) announced its formation at the Microsoft Developers Conference. The consortium, which is led by IP Commerce, intends to exploit new features in Windows Vista, including the operating system's enhanced security and discovery features.

Currently, small businesses interface with credit card companies and financial services firms in the financial ecosystem through highly proprietary relationships based on one-to-one technology connections. PASS redefines this relationship by enabling Independent Software Vendors, System Integrators and Value-Added Resellers to create service-oriented financial management solutions in software applications fulfilled by best-in-class providers through a single service provisioning system.

Pay By Touch has announced Paycheck Secure 8.0 that allows retailers to electronically deposit all checks at once with the touch of a button. Paycheck Secure 8.0 enhances existing technology that enables fingerprint authorization for customers cashing government or payroll checks.   » Continue Reading

San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Jonathan Curiel reports on Pay By Touch's biometric-based payment system In an article titled 'The Last Days of Privacy - As technology makes life richer and easier, we leave a trail of information that is susceptible to prying eyes".

Dave Friedlos reports from the UK on consumer reaction to pilots of Pay By Touch's biometric payment service where surveys report that 85 per cent of consumers said the technology is more convenient than chip-and-PIN and 75 per cent felt it is more secure. He also reports that there currently is "little enthusiasm among other major retailers for the system."

Pay By Touch has announced that the Coast to Coast family convenience store in Tampa, Florida has begun using its Bio-Pay branded biometric payment service.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has introduced what it says is "the industry's first software-only PIN-debit payment service, offered via its ATM Direct division."   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced plans to deploy its finger-touch payment service in Pathmark supermarkets. Exact locations for the initial deployment of Pay By Touch service are to be announced. Under the agreement, Pathmark plans to test the Pay By Touch service prior to a larger rollout.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that the ACCEL/Exchange EFT Network will be the first EFT network to enable the company's Internet PIN debit transactions. ACCEL/Exchange EFT Network is owned and operated by Fiserv, Inc. through its Fiserv EFT business unit.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that Fast Phil's, operator of 11 convenience stores in Spartanburg, Union and Chester counties in upstate South Carolina can now pay using a finger scan. Among the benefits of convenience of this form of payment, Pay By Touch is also highlighting that the consumer's payment information is protected from disclosure to even the store's employees.   » Continue Reading

In an article titled 'Need Cash? Call a Hedge Fund," Rebecca Buckman writes for the Wall St. journal about Pay By Touch's two most recent financings - raising $190 million - where the money came not from venture capitalists but primarily from hedge funds.

Alex Halperin writes for Business Week about using biometrics for payments and San Francisco-based Pay By Touch who now reports having enrolled 2 million people in its fingerprint biometric payment system.   » Continue Reading

Albertson's has announced that it is implementing Pay By Touch biometric payment systems in its Jewel-Osco stores throughout the Midwest. The rollout, which began in the Chicago area early this year and is expected to be completed in all 204 Jewel-Osco stores this month, follows a successful year-long test of the technology at Albertsons stores in the Portland, Oregon area.   » Continue Reading

Lisa Shidler writes for the Merrillville, Indiana Post-Tribune about the use of fingerprints to purchase groceries at Jewel-Osco stores as Pay By Touch rolls out in Northwest Indiana starting this week.

Pay By Touch has announced that Gary Bender has been named vice president of biometrics at Pay By Touch where he will oversee Pay By Touch's biometric technology applications.   » Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that CardSystems Solutions, Inc. and its successor, Solidus Networks, Inc., doing business as Pay By Touch Solutions, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that CardSystems' failure to take appropriate security measures to protect the sensitive information of tens of millions of consumers was an unfair practice that violated federal law.   » Continue Reading

Daniel Terdiman reports for CNET News.com from the Demo '06 conference about two companies who claim to handle secure payments while on the go without physical credit cards, cash or checks: Portland, OR-based mobile payments startup PayWi and San Francisco-based fingerprint biometric focused Pay By Touch.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced the launch of Pay By Touch Online, a new payment and identification service that gives consumers a "fast, easy and secure way to identify themselves and make purchases on the Internet" and is based on Pay By Touch's patented biometric technology.   » Continue Reading

In a lengthy article, Evan Schuman reports for eWeek.com on some problems with the rollout of biometric-based payments at Piggly Wiggly - after initially seeing "strong consumer interest and support for the system."   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced it has closed more than $60 million in new financing through the sale of Series C Preferred Shares.   » Continue Reading

Matthew Boyle reports for Fortune on biometric-based payments and recent research by Sanford Bernstein analyst Emme Kozloff into their potential benefits for major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Costco.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced it has completed the acquisition of BioPay LLC for $82 million in stock and cash. BioPay is a biometric services provider with more than two million enrolled consumers that has authorized more than $7 billion in biometrically-authenticated transactions.   » Continue Reading

Jonathan Birchall reports for the Financial Times on Pay By Touch's plans to expand from 300 stores today equipped with its biometric payment service to an estimated 6,000 stores by the end of next year.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that Farm Fresh has completed the installation of biometric payment technology in all 41 locations across Hampton Roads and Elizabeth City, North Carolina.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced the appointment of Steven Yecies as senior vice president and general manager of the company's new health care business division. Yecies will lead the company's launch into the health care industry, where Pay By Touch expects to leverage its biometric service application to make improvements for patients, providers, payers and retail pharmacists.   » Continue Reading

M.P. Dunleavey reports for the New York Times on new payment technologies including contactless and biometric payments.   » Continue Reading

<Pay By Touch has announced it has acquired the assets and intellectual property of 7th Street Software, Inc. and Convena, LLC, two loyalty technology providers.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced it has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets of CardSystems Solutions, Inc. for $47 million in stock and cash.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch and NCR Corporation have announced an alliance to offer merchants around the world a single point of contact for supporting their entire merchant and consumer biometric needs.   » Continue Reading

The New York Times is reporting that Pay By Touch is expected to announce today the acquisition of BioPay, its chief rival in the fingerprint biometric payments market.

Update: Here's the official Pay By Touch press release on the acquisition.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced it has acquired Capture Resource, a supplier of integrated reward programs and business process outsourcing solutions.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced it will launch its biometric payment service with Bigg's at two of its stores in Cincinnati. Pay By Touch's service allows consumers to pay with their finger using their checking or Discover card accounts.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that it has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of CardSystems Solutions.

On Saturday, CyberSource has announced it had terminated negotiations with CardSystems, withdrawing its earlier offer to purchase the company's assets. CyberSource said its termination was the result of the inability of the parties to reach agreement in a timely manner creating severe obstacles to closing the transaction.

Eric Dash reports on the story for the New York Times.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch Solutions has announced that it has secured $130 million in new financing: $75 million was raised in senior secured notes and an additional $55 million was raised in a convertible promissory notes.

"We are thrilled to have major investments from two of the world's most respected hedge funds in this innovative financing. They will be substantial value added partners as we continue our rapid growth," said Gus Spanos, Executive Vice President of Pay By Touch Solutions.

"We are changing the way the world pays," said John Rogers, founder, chairman and CEO of Pay By Touch Solutions. "The additional funding allows us to continue development of secure biometric products and services as well as to pursue strategic acquisitions in vertical markets such as healthcare, loyalty products, online shopping, gaming, banking, finance, and implementations in businesses such as lodging, airlines, quick service restaurants, gas stations, car rentals, health clubs, theme parks, sports stadiums...the opportunities are boundless."

Matt Marshall reports for the San Jose Mercury News this morning on an expected announcement today by Pay By Touch Solutions regarding new financing.  Marshall reports in his article that the company will announce $130 million in new financing -- $55 million from convertible notes and $75 million in loans.

Ryan Holeywell reports for UPI on recent deployments of biometric payment systems by Pay by Touch and BioPay.

Charlotte Culpepper, customer service manager of a Piggly Wiggly in Charleston, S.C., said many customers sign up for the program without linking to a payment method simply to take advantage of the store's loyalty program -- although customers often consider the decision whether to join Pay By Touch for a while before taking the plunge.

Ellen McCarthy reports for the Washington Post on the use of biometric fingerprint identification for payment at the point of sale and some concerns among privacy rights advocates. The vendors of the technology, BioPay and Pay By Touch, cite speed as one of the primary benefits from using fingerprint biometrics.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that Piggly Wiggly has decided to deploy a storewide expansion of the Pay By Touch consumer biometric payment service in its grocery stores throughout South Carolina and Georgia.   » Continue Reading

The Lincoln (NC) Tribune reports that Lowes Food will begin deploying BioPay's biometrics payment solution later this spring.   » Continue Reading

Jo Best writes about Pay By Touch's technology installed at Washington State's Thriftway Stores.

The main benefit for his business, he said, is cost saving. It enables the retailer to shave cents off the average cost of an electronic payment transaction. With the biometric system, customers are encouraged to use debit cards, which cost the company almost half as much as the same payment by credit card, for example.

Pay By Touch has announced that it has acquired a new patent portfolio of issued US patents for additional biometric payment solutions.

"Our acquisition of the issued patent covering biometric authentication of check-cashing and our recently announced alliance with global transaction processing leader Certegy brings a compelling proposition to our check-cashing authentication services," said John Rogers, founder, chairman and CEO of Pay By Touch. "This acquisition is indicative of our market momentum as retailers and shoppers continue to sign up for Pay By Touch."

BioPay announced today that it has filed suit against Solidus Networks, Inc. d/b/a/ Pay By Touch, and Indivos Corporation.

BioPay's lawsuit, filed January 18, 2005, involves patents on the use of biometric technology in point-of-sale transactions. BioPay asks the court to declare patents held by Pay By Touch to be invalid and also asks the court to declare that BioPay has not infringed on Pay By Touch's patents.

Pay By Touch and Certegy have announced a marketing alliance to allow Pay By Touch users to cash government and payroll checks at Pay By Touch merchant locations.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch announced today a strategic alliance with Discover Financial Services that it expects to increase usage of Discover Card at retail point of sale locations as well as driving adopting of Pay By Touch.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced that its fingerprint-scanning payment system has been deployed in four Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. grocery stores in South Carolina.   » Continue Reading

Pay by Touch has announced that it has closed $25 million in financing from investors led by Mobius Venture Capital and including participation from the Gordon P. Getty Family Trust and other private investors.   » Continue Reading

InterCept has announced the sale of its InterCept Payment Solutions business for a total of $53.5 million. IPS was sold to two buyers -- iBill being purchased separately with the remainder of IPS acquired by Pay by Touch for $30.5 million.

Digital Transactions reports on Pay by Touch's CEO Craig Ramsey's views of marketplace adoption of his company's biometric-based payment acceptance technology.   » Continue Reading

Pay By Touch has announced an agreement with IBM to offer retailers using IBM point of sale systems the ability for their customers to pay by touch.   » Continue Reading