Gemalto announced a new product that should take a bite out of fraud – a new contactless fingerprint card.

While fingerprint cards were launched last year, this is the first biometric-powered credit card with a contactless technology.    The card will help stop fraud by ensuring that the only person that can use the card is the actual cardholder.

Gemalto is currently piloting the card at Bank of Cyprus in Greece.

Customers can get the cards by visiting their local branch and registering their fingerprints with the bank. The fingerprint is captured and registered with the card when it is given to the customer.  When a customer places their fingerprint on the credit card sensor to buy something, the fingerprint is matched to the legitimate fingerprint that they stored.

The trend for biometrics in credit card technology appears to be the next big wave in fraud reduction for card issuers and merchants.