Advances in Engineering Research, volume 120

International Forum on Energy, Environment Science and Materials (IFEESM 2017)

Design of NFC Mobile Payment System

Based On Fingerprint Identification

Xueyi Zhang1, a, Shuangle Zhao2,b

1
Electronic Information College, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300222 China
2
Electronic Information College, Tianjin University of Science &Technology, Tianjin 300222 China
a
[email protected], [email protected]

Key words: NFC Payment; Fingerprint Identification; ActiveX; LabVIEW; Access

Abstract: In order to avoid unauthorized payment of various stolen NFC terminal and to ensure
convenient payment process, NFC Secure Payment System Based On Fingerprint Identification is
designed, the fingerprint image collection module and the NFC reader are connected on the system
server，the system software is developed in LabVIEW Programming environment. It includes
User’s Interfaces and Service’s Application, the storage and identification of personal data, such as
NFC card number and fingerprint information and so on, are achieved by managing Access
database. When payment is made, the user fingerprint verification is performed first on the server.
The system test results are as follows: the payment time is less than 1S, the payment distance is less
than 10cm, and the fingerprint storage capacity is more than 4000. The system is accurate, reliable
and stable. The intelligent payment system can be used in consuming place of campus as well as
enterprise, and also provides reference value for security applications such as identity identification.

Introduction
Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, as a short-range wireless communication
technology，has the characteristics of natural security, simple payment process, and fluent user
experience. Furthermore, the payment terminals need no networks (WiFi and mobile network) or
power supply. Mobile payment, as an offline payment method, is executed through the Non-contact
approach between NFC mobile phone and receiving terminal (such as POS machine embedded
NFC module). NFC payment is a mature technology in Japan and South Korea. NFC has been
applied in small-amount consumption areas such as traffic, shopping, and entertainment, etc in
Europe and America. At present, China's NFC payment services such as Unionpay “quick pass”
business and China Mobile "and" business are developing rapidly. NFC Mobile phone quantities are
becoming increasingly rich, and wearable devices such as NFC wristbands and NFC rings also have
been reported in recent news.
Thanks to the short communication distance of the NFC, the common security threats, such as
intermediate attacks and the third eavesdropping can be greatly reduced or be solved by encryption,
SSL and, other technologies. However, once the NFC terminal is lost, it will lead to the
unauthorized payment, information leakage, and other security threats. Therefore, it is necessary to
verify the identity, legality, authenticity, and uniqueness of the user. At present, NFC card terminals
is mainly applied to small-amount payments, with anonymous and non-loss-reporting methods, and
the identity authentication is still based on WPKI, that is, passwords and digital signatures and other
authentication methods. Liu [1] proposed a mobile payment identity authentication protocol, which
is based on the combination of mobile token and PIN code. Chang Liu [2] proposed an
identity authentication system with dynamic password. Password authentication increases the bur-

Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 1303
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den of NFC payment obviously , it isn’t a quick and convenient way of mobile payment.
The current challenges of NFC, without increasing the costing of terminal, are to prevent
unauthorized payment, break the limit of small-amount payment, and improve the user experience.
However, little literature has been reported. Abu-Saymeh [3] proposed an authentication framework
based on gesture recognition and language recognition, a third-party monitoring software for
monitoring all NFC applications was proposed in Ref [3]. However, as the security of the
monitoring software affects the security of the NFC application, the security protection of the
monitoring software is significant. The fingerprint identification is suitable for the quick payment
due to its uniqueness and efficiency. This paper proposes a design of the fingerprint verification
provided by the business acceptor and a NFC security payment system that authenticate the
identification on the server side. The system is suitable for various NFC terminals.

System composition and working principle

The system includes NFC terminal, NFC card reader (such as POS machine), fingerprint collection
module, computer, etc. Block diagram of system composition is shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 block diagram of system composition

The system initiates the fingerprint acquisition module and the NFC card reader when the NFC
card is detected. Then the system collects the current input fingerprint and generating the signature
and sends the NFC card number to the host computer. The application program accesses the host
computer fingerprint database according to the unique NFC card number, and reads the registered
fingerprint features associated with the card number. The data is sent to the fingerprint module to
make the alignment and to produce the results of comparison. The host computer examines the
results of the corresponding processing: If the input fingerprint matched with the registered
fingerprint, identity authentication is successful; if not, the certification failed. The system
implements the authentication to guarantee payment is done by the authorized user.

Hardware Design of the System

The system consists of upper computer and lower computer, the upper computer (PC) is based on
LabVIEW to register and store the fingerprint data collected by the fingerprint module to form the
fingerprint library. At the same time, the input fingerprint and the registered fingerprint are
compared by upper computer. The lower computer includes the fingerprint acquisition module, the
NFC terminal and the NFC card reader module. The upper computer and the lower computer make
a real-time communication through the USB bus interface, hardware circuit block diagram is shown
in Figure 2.

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LabVIEW Program
PC
USB Serial driver

USB Interface

TTL to USB interface

UART1 UART2
NFC Fingerprint 3.3v/5v
NFC Terminal Reader module Power
supply

Fig. 2 block diagram of hardware circuit

Fingerprint acquisition module
In order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the system’s fingerprint verification, the
fingerprint acquisition module is selected with FPM20A which is capacitive and high-resolution.
The hardware components include sensor FPC1011F and processor DSP, which support the Biokey
algorithm. The algorithm is a fast and accurate 1: 1 fingerprint recognition algorithm, which can
realize fingerprint acquisition, preprocessing, feature extraction and fast fingerprint matching. The
FPM20A module uses the standard UART serial port to output 32-byte fingerprint feature points.
The baud rate is optional, and the default baud rate is 57600 bps. The format of the transmitted
frame is 10 bits and there is no parity bit.
NFC card reader module
The NFC card reader module uses ZLG600A-T2 with built-in NFC chip PN532, the module is
developed based on the Arduino platform and it can read and write 13.56MHz smart card which is
accord with non-contact card protocol( ISO14443-4 A / B) (like a variety of public transport RFID
card) [4]. ZLG600A-T2 can generate interruption when a card is detected, the data type and output
mode of card number can be set by modifying the firmware[4]. After the serial port conversion,
ZLG600A-T2 will transmit the data of card number to the host computer database through the USB
interface. The circuit block diagram is shown in figure 3.
ZLG600A-T2

MCU TTL
UART
Antenna LGT8F88B to
PN532 Serial
loop USB

Power

Fig. 3 circuit block diagram of NFC card reader module

NFC card terminal module
The NFC card is a user- oriented terminals of the mobile payment system, held and used by the
consumer. According to the NFC communication standard, NFC card operating modes can be
divided into card mode, card reader mode and point to point mode. Therefore, NFC card and card
reader are NFC devices with built-in NFC chip. Since the NFC standard is compatible with the
RFID ISO14443-4 A /B protocol, the NFC terminal does not need to be designed separately. It can
be a common RFID IC card or a mobile phone that supports NFC functionality and has configured
for card mode. The NFC card power is powered by the non-contact card reader RF field and
remains active when the NFC card terminal is not powered, namely a passive IC card.
Serial communication module
Both the card reader module ZLG600A-T2 and the fingerprint acquisition module FPM20A

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use the standard UART serial port as output port, which need level conversion module to achieve
communicate with PC. The conversion process is simple and does not elaborate.

System Software Design

The lower-level computer’s software include NFC Arduino card reader communication module,
fingerprint communication command debugging module; PC software is developed by LabVIEW,
through LabVIEW access to the database to achieve personal information management and smart
card recharge & consumption management, is the server software of the payment system.
NFC Arduino card reader communication
NFC Arduino card reader module is used to achieve the near-field communication between the
card reader module and the NFC card terminal to obtain NFC card number and send them to the
host computer. By updating the firmware, once it has detected the card, ZLG600A-T2 can generates
interruption to read out continuously the card number, the UART output baud rate is
57600Kbps.The firmware update process involves several aspects: (1) Install the IDE chip patch in
the standard Arduino IDE programming software environment; 2) Write a new firmware code; 3)
Firmware updating[5-6]. The program codes are not listed due to the limited space.
Fingerprint module and host computer communication data format testing
In order to ensure the control instructions are accurate when LabVIEW sends them to the
FPM20A module and to get the response results of the module, Gussie serial assistant software is
selected to test the format of the data packets between FPM20A module and the host computer, the
software supports hexadecimal. For example, when the host computer sends directive of fingerprint
image entry, corresponding command and module response data packets format in the agreement
are shown in Table 1[7], the data packets format tested with Gussie software is shown in the Figure 4.
The command code issued by the host computer serial assistant is "01H", and the confirmation code
"00H" returned by the response data packets indicate that the fingerprint image entry is successful.
In addition, generating fingerprint image features, uploading fingerprint features and matching
fingerprint features such as the instructions were all tested. The instruction & response data packets
format of the above test commands are shown in table 2.
Table 1 instruction &response data packets format of inputting fingerprint image
data packets bytes 2bytes 4bytes 1bytes 2bytes 1bytes bytes
instruction/confir-
data packets contents headers addresses identifier length checksum
mation code
instruction packets 0xEF01 XXXX 01H 03H 01H 05H

response packets 0xEF01 XXXX 07H 03H XXH Sum

Figure. 4 data packets format tested with Gussie software

Table 2 instruction & response data packets format of the above test commands
No. function instruction data packets response data packets

1 entry fingerprint image 0xEF01 FFFFH 01H 0003H 01H 0005H 0xEF01 FFFFH 07H 0003H XXH SUM

2 generating fingerprint features 0xEF01 FFFFH 01H 0004H 02H ID SUM 0xEF01 FFFFH 07H 0003H XXH SUM

3 uploading fingerprint features 0xEF01 FFFFH 01H 0004H 08H ID SUM 0xEF01 FFFFH 07H 0003H XXH SUM

4 matching fingerprint features 0xEF01 FFFFH 01H 0003H 03H 0007H 0xEF01 FFFFH 07H 0005H XXH SUM

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ID means BufferID, it refers to the number of buffers in the module that store fingerprint
features, such as CharBuffer1 and CharBuffer2, and their BufferID are 01H and 02H respectively.
Only the confirmation code "00H" returned by all of the response packet indicates that the
instructions had successfully executed, otherwise they are failed.
Host computer software
The LabVIEW software is composed of two parts: the front panel and the block diagram
program. The software includes personal information management module and recharge &
consumption module.
Front panel interface of personal information management
Based on the input and output functions of the design controls, the front panel interface is
shown in figure 5, it includes functions such as fingerprint signature, display, input for NFC card
number and user ID number and NFC card reading, and information input status indication. The
program can create, delete, update and query personal information, the creation of the personal
information is presented in the following sections.

Figure. 5 front panel interface of personal information management

Program design of information creation
Although fingerprint module FPM20A has fingerprint storage and matching function, the
storage capacity is limited. This paper designs the database registration fingerprint feature
separately. The module will collect and process the fingerprints which are allowed or authorized,
and upload fingerprint features to the host computer by the serial port, through LabVIEW
connection, read and edit the fingerprint database. The program uses modular design ideas,
including VISA access, fingerprint collection and registration, NFC card number entry and database
management modules.
VISA access
LabVIEW uses the VISA node to implement serial communication with the fingerprint module.
When the system is working, the module is initialized by the VISA Configure Serial Port. When the
fingerprint is collected, the switching value is sent to the FPM20A through the serial port to control
its startup fingerprint acquisition and processing program, and then call the serial read function
(VISA Read) to read the fingerprint feature.
Fingerprint registration module
This module is to register the new fingerprint features in the host computer to form the
fingerprint library. The LabVIEW program issues directives to FPM20A module for fingerprint
image collection and fingerprint feature codes creation, and completes the fingerprint feature codes
storage by database accessing. The fingerprint registration flow chart is shown in Figure 6.

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Start

Initialization and opening database

Fingerprint entry

N
Is the image ok?

N Y

Entry 2 times？
Y
Generating fingerprint features

Saving fingerprint features

End

Figure. 6 flow chart of the fingerprint registration

As it requires LabVIEW to edit the database to achieve the new fingerprint registration and
NFC card number entry, therefore the specific database operation is unified (see section 3.3.2.4).
NFC card number entry
ZLG600A-T2 is the active mode, once the RF domain detects the NFC card, it will send 10
decimal NFC card number to the host computer through the serial. LabVIEW uses VISA serial read
function to read the card number, and write them to the database, if the card number has been
registered, then the error returned; Conversely, to the database to add card number.
Database management
This article uses Microsoft Access as a system database to store and manage the fingerprints
and NFC card number and other important data. The Access property is rich and flexible for use.
First, a database file named Fingerprint.mdb needs to be established in Access. Then, according to
the system needs, a fingerprint feature table, user information table, transaction records and NFC
card table, user request table, etc. are needed to be created. Each line of these tables is a record and
user information table is the core table. UserID is used as the index field links to the other tables of
the respective UserID fields. Next, a data source named DSN (Data Source Names) named Finger
needs to be created. The fingerprint feature table is shown in table 3, the user information table
is shown in table 4.
Table 3 fingerprint feature table in access database
fingerprint feature table

ID User name fingerprint feature codes

1 LU

2 JIN

3 ZHAO

4 W ANG

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Table 4 user information table in access database

User Information Table

ID User name NFC coding Student ID balance

1 LU 5845020336 13212101 100

2 JIN 2158354625 13212102 50

3 ZHAO 4836220402 13212103 80

4 WANG 5621952868 13112104 60

After completing the database and table creation, LabVIEW can access the database. The
commonly used access tools are SQL Toolkit, ADO control and LABSQL toolkit [5]. This article
calls the Microsoft ADO control using the LABVIEW ActiveX function. The SQL language is used
for Read &Write operations of the fingerprint database. Limited by the space, only the methods to
open database, to add new fingerprints and NFC card number are introduced in the followings.
(1) Opening database
Using SubVI of opening Database, the Refnum input to open the Automation function node is
provided by the Automation Refnum control, and you need to select Microsoft Access from the
Object Type Library in the Selecting the ActiveX Class window, then the object Application is
created at the top of Access ActiveX Sever and it connects with the opening automation node,
Refnum output of the opening automation node is Application Refnum[8].
(2) Adding new fingerprint features
Block diagram of Personal Information Registration Program is shown in Figure 9, for user
fingerprints, NFC card number and user ID and other data preservation, each fingerprint has a
unique user ID. The database is operated by running Execute Function of the CurrentDb, Execute
method is made by conveying the pointer to the database, the use of Execute method has a unique
input Query, which performs a valid SQL Query expression. SQL statements include INSERT
INTO, SELECT, CREAT TABLE and other instructions, INSERT INTO command is used to store
the fingerprint feature codes, and write them to the fingerprint table, the command syntax is: (field1,
field2, ...) VALUES ('data1', ' data2 ', ...). Similarly, you can use INSERT INTO to implement card
numbers and other data add to the database. After the end of the database operation, you can use the
Closing method of Connection object to close the database[9], it is not introduced. User fingerprints
and other personal information registration program block diagram as shown in figure 7.

Figure.7 block diagram of personal information registration program

Front Panel Interface of NFC Payment System
Front Panel Interface of NFC Payment System is shown in figure 8 with two parts of Recharge

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and Consumption. It shows Consumption Amount, fingerprint verification images and match results,
etc. The amount of recharge input, card balance can also be seen in Recharge interface.

Figure.8 front panel interface of NFC payment system

Program design of NFC fingerprint verification payment
The algorithm of fingerprint identification determines the operating time of the payment system,
FPM20A supports 1: 1 fingerprint identification algorithm, therefore, the rapid fingerprint
verification is realized by means of fingerprint matching within the module and uploading the
results to the upper computer. The fingerprint verification payment is the key part of the system.
After the system inputs the consumption amount of money and detects the NFC card, it accesses the
user information table in access database, as shown in Table 4. The system gets the NFC card
balance and determines whether it is available for the payment, if the balance is insufficient, the
charge is not successful. If the balance is sufficient, The LabVIEW program sends the instructions
to the fingerprint module for entry fingerprint image and fingerprint feature codes creation，it also
accesses the fingerprint library to read the fingerprint codes of the current NFC card holder and sent
them to FPM20A module through the VISA function. The system makes difference response
according the matching result from FPM20A, if they are equally matched , the system charges, and
updates the database balance, if not, the system pay is failed and it exits after two times of
mismatching. The system fingerprint verification payment flow is shown in figure 9.
Start

Start service

Is the amount N
Swipe card Get server info. Show Balance
set up?

Y
Swipe card

Get server info.

N
Is balance sufficient? Voice prompting

Y
Pay and display balance

Update database and store payment info.

Y N N End
Is continue？ Shut down service and exit

Figure .9 program flow of the system fingerprint verification payment program flow

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Trough subVI program creation, the program implements the NFC card number query and can
read the value of the specified field of the query record, including the name and balance, the
implementation of this function is achieved through a data query subVI program, it opens the NFC
card table of the current database and returns the records that match the criteria. The balance in the
record is compared with the amount of setting consumption, if the balance is insufficient, the
program exits the database, If it is sufficient, the program use the SQL statement to query the record
based on the index name (user NFC card number) and to obtain the specified fingerprint feature
fields; then the field value is read by use of Property Node 1, Invoke Node 2 and Property Node 3.
The three Automation Close Nodes function of Close Property, Close Fields and Close item is to
turn off the corresponding database to release the memory. The system fingerprint verification
payment program block diagram is shown in figure 10.

Figure.10 fingerprint verification payment system program block diagram

System Performance Testing

In order to verify the performance and reliability of the NFC security payment system, functional
testing is carried out. The system collects 6 fingerprints successfully before NFC payment testing,
when the NFC card closes to the antenna of the NFC reader, the number of the card was read out
successfully, after setting the amount of consumption is 25yuan, the system waited entry of the
fingerprint, its image displayed in the front panel window with lighting up the lamp, the testing of
NFC payment is successfully.

Figure.11 fingerprint verification payment system program block diagram

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Conclusion
(1) A NFC secure payment system based on fingerprint identification is designed in this paper, the
payment time of the system is less than 1S and its distance is less than 10cm, the fingerprint storage
capacity is more than 4000. The system can prevent the payment terminal from being stolen, and
ensure the friendly user experience. The system does not increase the payment security.
(2) The system software is based on LabVIEW environment development, through the link of
Access database to achieve fingerprint acquisition, entry and recognition. It provides new concepts
and methods of fingerprint verification system developing which is different from the system
developing in Android platform and embedded platform, the new system is more concise, more
efficient. The system capacity and scalability are stronger than previous one.
(3) The design of the system is flexible and practical. If the fingerprint fails to pay, the system can
collect the same user's new fingerprints and re-register. The system test results show that the
security payment system is stable and reliable, especially for the One-Card system of campus,
business and other application occasions, it also provides a reference for identification and other
security applications.
(4) The system software store and manage the transaction information and user data information.
The further work includes the development server for the user's client. The user can query card
balance, recharge records and manage the transaction records by logging the server.

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