IDEX Biometrics, a fingerprint sensor manufacturer, partnered with Cellfie Global, a South Korean smart card manufacturer, to develop biometric payment cards.

The commercial development agreement aims to design, manufacture, and market biometric payment cards for banks and FinTechs, leveraging Cellfie Global's metal card technology.

Cellfie Global has a strong presence in the US and Europe (78% of annual metal card shipments). Through its US company, ICK International, it will integrate IDEX Biometrics' technology into its metal and PVC card product range.

Analyst QuickTake : IDEX has entered several partnerships this year to develop and deploy biometric payment cards. This includes TaluCard (Europe), an unnamed South Asian smart card manufacturer, and Mutual Trust (Bangladesh). Meanwhile, in February, the company also expanded its partnership with Korea-based smartcard manufacturer KONA I to launch biometric payment cards in Japan (four months after initially partnering with KONA I to launch biometric payment cards across the globe).