Jack Henry Acquires Biometrics Firm

MONETT, Mo. - Jack Henry & Associates, parent company of credit union data processor Symitar Systems, is getting into biometrics. The firm announced last week its acquisition of biometrics firm Verinex Technologies based in California. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Verinex's Biodentify product utilizes fingerprint authentication to provide higher levels of security, said the company. Jack Henry & Associates President Tony Wormington said Jack Henry wanted this business to help its clients with password administration, which is becoming more expensive. "The Gartner Group and IDC estimate that password administration and management costs can total $200 to $300 per user, per year; not including the cost of compromised proprietary information. The research also confirmed that 20 to 50% of all help desk calls are requests for password resets, and the average labor cost for a single password reset is $38," said Wormington. He said biometrics can help eliminate user names and passwords and the related costs that go with them. The company said that the new biometrics technology will be available in its credit union and bank systems. Jack Henry also announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Select Payment Processing, Inc., an EFT firm.