Barclays is Launching Finger Scanner that Scans a Person’s Blood Flow to Access Account

It’s hard for an article to be simultaneously disturbing and amusing, but this morning’s article in the UK Telegraph about Barclays’ new blood vein finger scanner does just that.

What’s truly incredible about the article is Ashok Vaswani’s (chief executive of Barclays personal and corporate banking) purported obsession with fighting criminality, when in reality there appear to be few bigger criminal enterprises on earth than Barclays itself.

We are told the following about Barclays’ ostensible commitment to the rule of law:

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Mr Vaswani said Barclays was improving technology and security, but criminals were also getting more sophisticated.

“You can’t let these guys create a breach in the dam. You’ve got to constantly stay ahead of the game,” he told Reuters.

This guy sure talks a good game, yet it’s hard to find a bank more engaged in almost every single financial crime and market rigging practice imaginable, and yes I’ve tried.

Just this morning, I woke up to the following headline: Barclays, BofA, Citigroup Sued for ISDAfix Manipulation. But that’s nothing really. Let’s take a look at some of the greatest hits from Barclays’ wall of shame…

Gold Manipulation: Barclays Slapped with $44 Million Fine Over Gold Price Fix.

Foreign Exchange Rigging: Barclays Drawn into Foreign Exchange Scandal.

Energy Market Rigging: Barclays’ $453m Fine for U.S. Energy Market-Rigging Upheld.

LIBOR Manipulation: Barclays Settles U.K. Libor Case Weeks Before Start of Trial.

The rigging of LIBOR may be the most insidious of all, as I outlined in my 2012 post: My Two Cents on LIBOR-GATE.

Now for the Telegraph article. It’s incredible how shameless and full of shit these banksters are:

Barclays is launching a vein scanner for customers as it steps up use of biometric recognition technology to combat banking fraud.

Indeed, to “combat banking fraud.” Barclays doesn’t like competition.

The bank has teamed up with Japanese technology firm Hitachi to develop a biometric reader that scans a customer’s finger to access accounts, instead of using a password or PIN.

The biometric reader, which plugs into a customer’s computer at home, uses infrared lights to scan blood flow in a person’s finger. The user must then scan the same finger a second time to confirm a transaction. Each “vein profile” will be stored on a SIM card inside the device.

“Biometrics is the way to go in the future. We have no doubt about that, we are committed to it,” said Ashok Vaswani, chief executive of Barclays personal and corporate banking.

Mr Vaswani said Barclays was improving technology and security, but criminals were also getting more sophisticated.

We all know who the real criminals are. You aren’t fooling anybody.

“You can’t let these guys create a breach in the dam. You’ve got to constantly stay ahead of the game,” he told Reuters.

The bank was also exploring other opportunities, which could include using similar technology on mobile tablets, which is the fastest growing area for European banks, or at ATMs.

This is why you don’t bailout criminals. Especially banking criminals, the most dangerous kind.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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