Yogurtland Relies on DigitalPersona Fingerprint Biometrics to Aid in PCI Compliance and Payroll Fraud Reduction

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions, today announced Yogurtland restaurants across the U.S., Mexico and Guam are addressing Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance requirements and reducing payroll fraud with DigitalPersona® fingerprint biometrics. DigitalPersona U.are.U® Fingerprint Readers eliminate the need for franchise managers to remember constantly-changing login passwords at each store location, and also help eliminate buddy punching by employees.  This increases operational efficiency and reduces costs at Yogurtland locations.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110614/SF19198)

Employees at Yogurtland previously used 4-digit PIN codes at point-of-sale terminals to access time-and-attendance and POS systems, while managers used swipe cards for override authorizations. One of the biggest operational challenges was complying with the PCI Data Security Standards requirement to change a user's complex password every 90 days. Franchisee managers and owners with multiple locations found it difficult to remember the changing passwords, as not all of their stores would change passwords at the same time requiring managers to remember multiple complex passwords.  Forgotten passwords resulted in frequent calls to IT support at all hours of the day. By using U.are.U Fingerprint Readers with their Micros Systems, Inc. point of sale software, managers and owners do not need to remember complex passwords which are different for each location. They simply needed to touch the fingerprint reader to release the password.

"I've had the opportunity to use DigitalPersona's fingerprint solutions in a variety of other retail and POS businesses, and knew they were a perfect fit for addressing our needs at Yogurtland," said Phil Olea, director of technology at Yogurtland. "Fingerprint readers give you an irrefutable proof of identity and ensure that employees aren't clocking in and out for each other, and that only our managers have the ability to approve voids, discounts and overrides. Our employees were happy to get rid of their PINs and swipe cards, and seem to love that we are using cool, modern technology in our stores."

DigitalPersona U.are.U Fingerprint Readers have been integrated into more than 90 percent of the biometrically-enabled POS systems in the U.S. and are supported by a variety of commercial POS applications. DigitalPersona fingerprint readers enable restaurants and retailers to transition away from swipe cards and PINs, which can be easily lost, stolen or shared. In contrast, biometrics ties individuals to the actions they perform, providing a powerful deterrent to time-and-attendance and management-override fraud. Fingerprint biometrics also makes it easier for businesses to address the stringent PCI mandates for strong identity security controls and can improve productivity, as well as customer response times, by simplifying and speeding up system login.

"In the past, passwords and PIN codes were good enough, but today, PCI compliance mandates are forcing restaurateurs and retailers to significantly strengthen the security used to ensure only authorized employees access applications," said Jim Fulton, vice president of DigitalPersona. "DigitalPersona's U.are.U fingerprint readers make it simple for businesses to secure access to their POS systems and save money at the same time. Often, adding biometrics can pay for itself within a month by reducing theft and fraud."

About Yogurtland Franchising, Inc.

Created in 2006, Yogurtland was the first national frozen yogurt brand to empower their customers with the ability to serve themselves, and revolutionized the now ubiquitous self-serve, pay-per-ounce model seen nationwide. An industry pioneer in premium-quality frozen yogurt, Yogurtland's fundamental "You Rule" philosophy allows customers the freedom to create their own servings from a choice of 16 original sweet and tart flavors made with real ingredients and more than 35 toppings. Headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., Yogurtland is the nation's leading and fastest-growing frozen yogurt brand, with over 160 locations in the U.S., Mexico and Guam. For more information about Yogurtland, please visit www.yogurt-land.com.

About DigitalPersona

DigitalPersona, Inc. is a global provider of strong authentication and endpoint protection solutions that close the gap between people and security for enterprises, government agencies and commercial embedded-solution developers. The company's fingerprint biometrics technology helps organizations prevent fraud and increase accountability; it is incorporated into multiple national voting systems, almost all brands of biometrically-enabled point-of-sale (POS) stations, as well as many commercial applications in the retail, healthcare, and financial industries. DigitalPersona's data and access protection software is shipped by computer manufacturers on millions of notebooks and desktop computers per year; its cloud- and Active Directory-managed solutions for full disk encryption, multi-factor/strong authentication and single sign-on (SSO) password management simplify compliance and cut IT costs. For more information contact DigitalPersona, Inc. at: +1 650.474.4000, or visit www.digitalpersona.com.

© 2011 DigitalPersona, Inc. All rights reserved. DigitalPersona® and U.are.U® are trademarks of DigitalPersona, Inc. registered in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE DigitalPersona, Inc.