The new alliance will allow Pay By Touch users, for the first time, to cash government and payroll cheques at Pay By Touch merchant locations across the United States using the Pay By Touch finger scan technology along with Certegy's Paycheque Accept Verification and Cheque Guarantee services. Pay By Touch and Certegy will begin offering the joint service immediately to merchants throughout the United States.

"Pay By Touch is committed to providing solutions that increase convenience for shoppers and save money for retailers," said Eric Bachman, COO of Pay By Touch. "The Certegy alliance allows us to expand upon our existing product offering to offer a safe, private, and convenient way for consumers to cash cheques at every-day-retailers such as their local grocery store."

The one-time enrolment for the Pay By Touch/Certegy cheque-cashing service takes about a minute at participating retailers. Once users are verified with their government-issued ID and social security number, they simply scan their finger and add a search number (usually a phone number) to create a Pay By Touch wallet. Whenever a customer wants to cash a cheque, they simply place their finger on the scanner and enter their search number. The biometric information authenticates the customer's identity and Certegy uses its proprietary risk modelling technology to authorise the transaction.

"The Pay By Touch Technology, combined with Certegy's industry leading risk management system, provides supermarkets and retailers with a reliable, convenient method to offer cheque cashing services to their customers," said Jeff Carbiener, senior vice president and group executive of Certegy Cheque Services. "The result is increased customer loyalty and reduced exposure to fraudulent transactions."

The Pay By Touch/Certegy cheque-cashing service is an additional service to the Pay By Touch core offering, which gives customers the option of paying for purchases using a finger scan linked to their financial accounts and loyalty programmes. Several major retailers have already launched Pay By Touch's biometric payment service, and pilots with additional retailers are underway.