Pennsylvania’s Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union is now using biometric technology from Fiserv to authenticate both customers and employees.

There are three particular product solutions in play. Verifast Branch is being used to authenticate credit union members; Verifast SSO is the authentication solution used by Merck Sharp & Dohme employees for internal computer system access; and Verifast Access is being used for physical access control. All three solutions rely on palm vein biometrics for user identification.

In a statement announcing the deployment, Merck Sharp & Dohme executives lauded Verifast’s technology for enhancing the efficiency of the credit union’s operations. Merck Sharp & Dohme Operations VP Pat Kreidler asserted that “members and frontline staff have really embraced it,” adding that “the retired professionals that frequent our branches have quickly adopted the technology and appreciate the convenience and speed.”

Merck Sharp & Dohme Facility Manager Dave Shannen, meanwhile, attested, “The introduction of Verifast Access has been transformational for my workflow and for our staff,” referring to Fiserv’s biometric physical access control solution. “We don’t have to manage lost or temporary fobs and can easily facilitate differing levels and terms of access for staff and visitors alike.”

The acclaim attests not only to Fiserv’s solutions, but to the promise of biometric authentication in general, which is proving increasingly popular in the physical access and digital security markets, and in the financial services industryfor its capability to verify customers’ identities in particular.