FREMONT, Calif., May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Identiv, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVE) today announced its partnership with MintID to launch the world’s first near field communication (NFC)-protected, Internet of Things (IoT)-connected gold and silver bullion. Until now, consumers have struggled with the uncertainty of whether or not the precious metal products they own are actually genuine. Together, Identiv and MintID developed an AES-128 bit encrypted, tamper-proof NFC label that, when embedded directly at the source, MintID customers can use to authenticate their investments in real time with MintID’s iOS and Android mobile apps.
MintID’s mission is to prevent counterfeiting in the precious metals space. The company has developed an end-to-end solution for authenticating precious metal products, such as silver coins or solid gold bars, and all types of luxury goods. MintID embeds NFC tags onto products directly at minting agencies. Upon tapping with a mobile device, the chip uses NFC to display a product's specifications, via MintID’s Android or iOS mobile app, allowing manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers to track the supply chain of the physical product.
Standard NFC and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are not designed for metal. The technology behind Identiv’s RFID Tag on Metal (TOM®) Labels is unique. These high-frequency (HF) labels (ISO/IEC 14443 or 15693) are equipped with a shielding technology that provides an optimum read range when applied to metallic surfaces. Featuring government-grade AES-128 bit encryption, MintID chose to work with Identiv to embed the company’s tamper-proof TOM Labels onto its gold and silver bullion, making this partnership the first to focus on securely authenticating precious metals in the IoT.
“Each MintID NFC chip contains a NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF)-encoded message with government-grade cryptography," said Stephane Ardiley, Identiv Director of Product Management. "When scanned, the chip is validated through a cloud service guaranteeing the authenticity of the gold or silver product. To address the challenges of RFID in metallic environments, Identiv has designed a series of tags that deliver the utmost performance when read by a variety of iOS and Android mobile devices. Our RFID TOM Labels were the perfect solution for MintID and the logical first step for NFC into the precious metals market."
TOM Labels are ideal for interactive mobile applications (i.e., micro-payment, advertising, loyalty, or access), production process control and traceability, asset and inventory management (i.e., tool tracking, servers, computers, etc.), medical environments (i.e., equipment identification and tracking), shelf or location tagging, transportation projects, and NFC-based applications, in addition to counterfeit protection.
“Unlike serial numbers, fluorescent inks, or QR codes, MintID chips cannot be copied or cloned,” said Corey Maita, MintID Founder. “Through our partnership with Identiv, MintID can provide locked, encrypted chips that link physical bullion products to cloud-based digital records. Together, we’re connecting precious metals to the IoT to provide our customers with complete transparency and an end-to-end solution to protect their investments.”
MintID’s Android and iOS mobile apps store a digital identity of each connected product, and each product can be instantaneously authenticated and guaranteed genuine by the minting facility that produced it. The app features real-time authentication of goods, product specifications, and buy/sell capabilities. MintID’s inaugural product line includes 1 oz gold bars, 1 oz silver rounds, and 10 oz silver bars. The plan is to expand further into the luxury goods market over the next several years.
Identiv’s team is expert in designing and manufacturing HF and UHF transponders for embedded use in billions of everyday objects, including medical devices, books, toys, athletic apparel, perishable food items, and pharmaceuticals. Regardless of the form factor (dry inlay, wet inlay, label, ticket, and more), Identiv’s transponders are uniquely positioned to deliver RFID connectivity to and interact with virtually any object in the IoT. Learn more about Identiv’s complete RFID, NFC, and inlay portfolio by visiting identiv.com/products/rfid-nfc-inlays, calling +1 888.809.8880, or contacting sales@identiv.com.
About MintID
MintID believes that in a connected world, every bullion investment product and collectible should have a digital identity to guarantee its authenticity. MintID technology can digitally identify, authenticate, and prevent the counterfeiting of some of the world’s most valuable items. For more information, visit mintid.com.
About Identiv
Identiv, Inc. is a global provider of physical security and secure identification. Identiv’s products, software, systems, and services address the markets for physical and logical access control, video analytics, and a wide range of RFID-enabled applications. Customers in the government, enterprise, consumer, education, healthcare, banking, retail and transportation sectors rely on Identiv’s access and identification solutions. Identiv's mission is to secure the connected physical world: from perimeter to desktop access, and from the world of physical things to the Internet of Everything. Identiv is a publicly traded company and its common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market in the U.S. under the symbol “INVE.” For more information, visit identiv.com.
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