HID Global tapped for multi-factor authentication project in Poland; the latest government smart card predictions; Cross Match available via UK’s G-Cloud CloudStore; SeureKey and Oberthur Technologies partner on mobile identity initiative and Gemalto supporting African health project.

In order to enable quicker and more secure payments on mobile devices, retailers are turning to different APIs that store payment card data in the cloud but use stronger authentication — such as biometrics — to identify consumers.

Book a hotel room, arrive, check in at the desk, receive a key and then go to the room. That’s the way things usually work. But HotelTonight and Brivo Labs want to take a couple of steps out of that equation and enable everything to be done on the handset — from booking to unlocking the room.

Authentication on mobile devices isn’t easy. Extra hardware or lengthy passwords adds friction to the authentication process and nobody wants to deal with the hassle. Researchers at Rutgers University found that free form shapes drawn with fingers on the touchscreen are more secure than standard pass codes, and they’re surprisingly easy to remember.

Goode Intelligence issued an analyst report forecasting that by 2019 there will be 5.5 billion users of mobile and wearable biometric technology worldwide.

Apple announced that it was opening up the APIs for Touch ID so the fingerprint scanner can be used for access to specific apps. IdentityX, a Daon affiliate, launched a major system update with support for Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint technology.

With sales of tablets and smart phones on the rise — 2.2 billion in 2014 — hackers are switching their focus to target the mobile devices in order to gain access to personal information. Gartner has some suggestions on how enterprises can be protected from these attacks.

NexID Biometrics launched its Mobile Live Finger Detection application for the Android operating system. The application means that makers of Android smart phones and other running the same operating system can use the app to improve the accuracy and security of the devices’ fingerprint scanners.

The updated version of LastPass’ Android app leverages the Galaxy S5’s fingerprint sensor for a way to login to accounts. With a swipe of a fingerprint, Galaxy S5 owners will be able to access their password vault.

Janrain unveils the Mobile Registration Solution; NexID Biometrics receives a series of funding grants; CA Technologies announced the availability of CA Identity Suite, and codeREADr released “Tap to Verify,” a product that uses NFC tags to authenticate a worker’s physical presence.