Financial Institution

Peoples Bank

Financial institutions face some of the most pressing security and access control concerns. Case in point is the Peoples Bank. They needed to control access to their Operations Center and internal areas such as primary and secondary data centers and offices. They assigned their local security vendor with the task of considering card and biometric systems, and recommending a solution that would fully satisfy their needs.

After extensive research and testing viable options, the Bank’s security vendor recommended Integrated Biometrics’ TRU650 biometric system due to its system performance, security, price, reliability and ease of use. Integrated Biometrics worked closely with the security vendor and Peoples Bank during installation, configuration and administrative training. Travis Conley, FVP/Information Technology Officer for Peoples Bank, noted that the IT installation was very simple, and the system works incredibly well.

Since initial installation in December 2006, Peoples Bank has added to their system with two additional purchases. After two years of everyday use, the TRU650 system has satisfied their needs of system reliability and confidence, plus the added benefits of:

• no longer having to manage keys or cards;
• the capability of identifying who, when, and where specific people have accessed their facilities; and
• the ability to add and remove employees easily and create access levels with ease.

“We value the good relationship with Integrated Biometrics and like knowing that we can call with questions and not be treated like a bother,” Conley said. “We’ve had a great overall experience.”

Woori Bank

As a major financial institution, Woori Bank has long been a leader in implementing security measures in the banking industry. They were faced historically with the challenge of ensuring only authorized personnel could execute loan approvals and producing a valid audit trail of the approval process. Woori Bank was concerned about the potential for financial losses associated with the approval of loans by unauthorized personnel.

Bank administrators felt the use of usernames and passwords was ineffective as the validating credential to execute these transactions. They set out to find an alternate solution. Initially, they implemented the use of cards as the validating credential, but this approach did not eliminate unauthorized personnel from granting loan approvals nor did it provide the audit trail accuracy necessary.

In 2005, Woori Bank decided to perform a limited test utilizing fingerprint biometrics as the validating credential and quickly made the decision to move forward with this solution. In 2006, they initiated competitive testing of several technologies to determine which they would use for full scale implementation across all offices. After competitive testing, Woori Bank chose Integrated Biometrics’ Light Emitting Sensor (LES) with fingerprint matching engine. The security and usability intrinsic to the LES-based solution made it an obvious choice for this unattended application.

Integrated Biometrics now has over 10,000 units installed and operating every day in Woori Bank offices. “We are very satisfied with the solution provided by Integrated Biometrics” says Shin Il Whan, manager for Woori Info. “It has solved a major problem for us. We are so pleased; we are looking at expanding the technology in other areas of our business, such as bank customers, in the near future.”