Supervalu Ends Pay-By-Fingerprint Service

Eden Prairie, Minn. The vendor behind Cub Foods fingerprint-verification payment system has ceased operations, prompting Cub parent Supervalu Inc. to end the service.

Solidus Networks Inc., owner of Pay By Touch, issued a press release on Wednesday saying that it would halt its biometric transactions as of 11:59 p.m. that day.

Solidus had filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in December. The company has also been sued by former executives.

In a statement Wednesday, Solidus stated that insufficient funding and current market conditions meant that it couldn't support the biometric payment system any longer.

Supervalu used the Pay-By-Touch system in multiple banners, including Cub, Jewel-Osco, bigg's, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's and Albertsons. It launched the service in 2005.

Haley Meyer, a spokeswoman for Supervalu, said the end of the service is unfortunate and Supervalu regrets any inconvenience for customers.

"Supervalu strives to offer services that make our busy customers' lives easier, and we will continue to look for ways in which we can do that," she said.