BlueVault, a maximum-security storage facility, has installed Fujitsu Frontech North America’s PalmEntry Physical Access Control system at its facility in San Diego.

The PalmEntry system involves contactless biometric palm scans to authenticate an individual and allow them access to a location. Fujitsu’s technology has vein sensors that use a near-infrared light to capture the pattern of veins within a palm and match it to a pre-registered user. This vascular pattern recognition system only works if blood is flowing through the veins.

European bank UniCredit has become Fujitsu Technology Solutions’ first major customer to order its PalmSecure authentication system, reports Computerworld.

UniCredit plans to launch the palm scanners in Italy as a payment authorization method at POS terminals. The system, which it’s calling Papillon, will eliminate the need for a card or PIN and will allow enrolled users to pay for items by having their hand read by a scanner.