NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME) -- Consumer behavior has forever been changed because of COVID-19 according to the maker of biometric credit and debit cards, SmartMetric.

The ubiquitous PIN pad at every checkout where you need to touch buttons to enter your PIN code has become a virus spreading touchpoint. As a consumer goes to enter their PIN number on the PIN pad at the checkout a hesitation happens as they realize they are touching something that any number of consumers have touched during the course of just the past hour. Having no other option the consumer touches the PIN pad and if they are lucky reach immediately for a hand sanitizer. However most don’t because simply there is none provided at the checkout.

PIN pads have overnight become a virus spreading touchpoint that many consumers have an aversion to in this post COVID-19 world. However there is a safer way and it is already being rolled out around the world. The touchless “contactless” card reader. Instead of swiping and touching a card reader, the consumer simply waves their contactless equipped card within an inch or two of the card reader and instantly their card information is read by the machine. No touching. No swiping. A simple wave of the card in proximity to the card reader and the credit or debit card transaction is done.

Contactless credit and debit card transactions however have a singular issue. They are intrinsically less secure with no authorization such as a PIN number used to verify the authentication of the card user. This is why credit card issuers have limited the dollar spend amount through the use of the contactless credit cards. Making the contactless credit card unusable for such everyday things as a large grocery shopping for a regular family.

SmartMetric has an elegant and effective solution to the insecurity of the touchless and contactless credit card transaction. By adding a biometric fingerprint scanner inside the credit/debit card that scans the card user's fingerprint as they reach across to wave their card over the card reader at checkout, the company has successfully solved the security issue of contactless cards. A SmartMetric biometric technology inside the card now makes the credit and debit card far more secure than reliance on unsafe PIN numbers but now the preferred safe non touch option for consumers in this day and age of the pandemic.

"We see consumer behavior being forever changed post COVID-19 with consumers still wanting to reach for their card to make a payment but not wanting to touch PIN pads and readers at the checkout," said today SmartMetric’s President and CEO Chaya Hendrick.

The SmartMetric fingerprint activated dual interface credit and debit cards, having both contact insertion into a card reader along with contactless RFID/NFC wireless reading, use biometrics to provide a much higher level of card security to that of PIN based cards. At the same time the card's enhanced security that stops the card from being able to be used unless there is a 100% fingerprint match with the card user's fingerprint, provides banks with a much safer card platform. The card's RFID/NFC contactless feature is only activated following the biometric fingerprint match.

Using biometrics that are built into the card delivers a quantum leap in card security while now making contactless card payments even safer than the standard credit card. This means that banks can now rethink the transaction dollar amount limit now in place on contactless credit and debit cards. With a card that can now only be used by the person the card is issued too, contactless “no PIN pad touch” transactions can be safely used by the consumer while mitigating card fraud for the banks.

The global contactless credit/debit card payment market size is expected to grow from USD 10.3 billion in 2020 to USD 18.0 billion by 2025. This is at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.7% during the forecast period according to report published by the research group, MarketsandMarkets¹.

SmartMetric is ready to move aggressively forward in making available its new card to credit and debit card issuing banks around the world, in association with the its global banking partners.

SmartMetric is a USA based company with sales and marketing partnerships in Latin America, Europe the United States. Engineering of the biometric card electronics is done in-house and is the owned intellectual property of the company.

To view the SmartMetric Biometric Card please follow this link - . To view the company website: .

¹ MarketsandMarkets™ provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies’ revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets™ for their pain points around revenues decisions.

Safe Harbor Statement: Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Also such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, if we are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders are urged to carefully review and consider each of SmartMetric, Inc. public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to, if applicable, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, proxy statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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