EMV Chip Credit and Debit Cards Will Not Eliminate Card Fraud and Related Identity Theft Based on a Decade of Experience in EMV Card Usage in the UK and Europe According to SmartMetric the Creator of the Biometric Activated EMV Payments Card

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - March 02, 2016) -  SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME) -- The United Kingdom started to issue EMV Chip Credit and Debit Cards in 2005. Within little more than 18 months it saw a 50% reduction in point of sale card fraud at retail outlets while also seeing a blow out increase in online and over the phone credit card fraud. Analysts within the credit card industry have focused on the shift of fraud from the retail store to the online world while overlooking a serious issue that overseas deployment of EMV Chip Cards has shown. That being said, the deployment of EMV Cards has not eliminated card fraud within retail stores.

A fifty percent reduction is all well and good but when you are talking about multiple billions of dollars a year being lost due to card fraud at retail and ATM's you are still going to see somewhere between 3 to 6 billion being lost to fraud at retail and ATM's in the USA even after the full adoption of EMV technology. And to make matters worse, based on the fraud experience following the deployment of EMV across Europe, the United States is about to see a tidal wave of online and what is called "card not present" fraud, said SmartMetric's President & CEO, Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric has created a fingerprint activated biometric credit card that uses a super miniature fingerprint scanner inside the credit card that is used to identify and validate the card user. The card holder simply swipes their finger across the sensor on the surface of the card and in less than 0.25 seconds the card reads and matches the person's fingerprint that then in turn activates the card for use at the checkout or ATM. SmartMetric has also created a small USB card reader adaptor that turns a person's laptop into a much safer way to buy online. Simply inserting the USB card reader into the USB port of the laptop, activating the card by swiping your finger and then inserting your card into the reader has now brought the safety and power of biometric security to the online user.

We see the new biometric payments card as a totally new technology device. By adding advanced electronics including a Cortex processor, memory and a powerful biometric scanner we have turned the humble credit card into an advanced and powerful new consumer device, said Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric's biometric payments card solution adds to EMV Chip cards a strong biometric layer of security and works with existing chip card readers in retail stores and ATMs without the need for additional hardware or systems at the bank. The SmartMetric Biometric EMV Card has an embedded inside the card fingerprint reader that is used to scan a person's fingerprint, authenticate the card user and then in turn activate the card's EMV chip prior to a transaction at an ATM or in store checkout. The SmartMetric biometric card solution increases the trust level while providing a frictionless and seamlessly enhanced security experience for the card user.

According to EMVco there are 3.4 billion EMV chip cards now issued around the world. The United States is now changing over in excess of 1 billion credit and debit cards to EMV chip cards nationally.

To view a video of the SmartMetric biometric chip card follow this link:

SmartMetric Biometric Payments Card -- https://youtu.be/zSX59uHoHqU

To view the company website: www.smartmetric.com.

Safe Harbor Statement: Certain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. 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. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.