Seattle-based start-up Cavio Corporation is testing an online biometric-based payment solution for high-value transactions between small and mid-sized commodity trading companies. The firm has signed agreements with US banks Wells Fargo and Fidelity National, and plans to set up a worldwide network of licensees in North America, Europe, South Africa, India and China.
Cavio automates transactions for the exchange of commodities such as novelty items, chemicals, agricultural goods, scrap metal, textiles, coffee beans, rice, sugar, etc. These transactions are typically made through multiple brokers, and Letters of Credit (LoCs) issued by banks, leaving traders vulnerable to non-delivery and associated payment breakdowns.
Cavio founder and CEO Paul Mann comments: "Today's commodity traders have to cope with an inefficient system rife with fraudulent practices and misrepresentation."
Users enroll for a Cavio account at their local bank, where they obtain a free biometric device for capturing thumbprint records and instructions for downloading software. For e-commerce transactions, Cavio automatically captures all relevant payment data, including product, price, and vendor details.
The financial portion of the data is sent to the bank, which then initiates a bank guarantee of funds. The delivery address, product purchase data and confirmation of funds is then sent to the vendor. Upon satisfactory inspection of goods, the bank-to-bank transfer or guarantee of funds takes place.
Cavio 1.0, the beta version, is currently available on a controlled release basis. Cavio 2.0, the full production release, will be available in December, 2000.