China-based Telepower Communication (Telpo) will incorporate a fingerprint module from Norwegian company Next Biometrics into point-of-sale (PoS) terminals for the Indian market.
 
Initial shipments of the sensor modules are expected before the end of the year. Potential volumes for the application could be several hundred thousand units in the coming quarters.
 
"Next continues to see increased demand for our large-area fingerprint sensor technology from leading companies around the world for a broad set of applications," said Ritu Favre, CEO of Next Biometrics. "The security and convenience provided by Next's sensor modules make them ideal for the type of handheld point-of-sale terminals Telpo has developed."
 
The sensors, which have been certified by India's Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Standardisation Testing Qualification & Certification Directorate, will be built into the Telpo TPS900 PoS terminal. Telpo plans to provide the devices to a range of customers in India. The terminals will be used primarily for government applications.
 
"Telpo's design strengths and outstanding production capabilities are a good complement to Next's unique fingerprint sensor technology and background as a proven supplier," said Sunny Sun, general manager for international business at Telpo. "The use of biometric PoS terminals in India is expected to grow significantly and we believe we have the right products and technologies to capture that growth moving forward."
 
The agreement with Telpo continues Next's engagement with and focus on the market in India. In June, AqTronics, Next's supplier in India, received hardware certification to provide Next's unique fingerprint sensor to India's Aadhaar government ID programme. Shortly after, the company received initial orders for government certified fingerprint readers.
 
AqTronics has also recently received Registered Device Service certification to sell Next fingerprint sensors using Android software.
 
Next Biometrics Group is headquartered in Oslo, with sales, support and development operations in Seattle, Silicon Valley, Taipei, Prague, Bengaluru and Shanghai.
 
Telpo is a PoS and intelligent hardware supplier of smart terminals. It employs 800 people, including more than 150 R&D engineers.