FINAT praises label to ‘foil fraudsters’

The patented IXcode label is designed to replace scratch-off pin code protection systems, which use silver inks over the printed pin number which the customer needs to scratch off to display the pin.   

Often employed today by banks, this system lays itself open to pin code theft through, for example, heating the scratch-off inks to make the number visible.

Awarded a prize for innovation in the FINAT International Label Competition, Stratus Packaging’s IXcode features a ‘substantial change to the structure of the label laminate’ that contains the pin number and anchors it to the base document.  

One of the laminate components constitutes a stretchable ‘tongue’, which is then covered by tiny particles of black ink. By stretching the tongue, the customer can make the pin number appear as the tiny ink particles are dispersed and disappear.  

The stretchable material, however, will not shrink back to its original state, and cannot be replaced, so ready evidence of tampering is available to the customer. 

The complex laminate – which involved extensive testing of different materials, adhesives and inks, and more than 100 hours of proving trials – effectively deters the efforts of the pin code thieves by making it impossible to conceal the fact that the label has been previously disturbed.

‘One of our specialities at Stratus Packaging is in creating practical, effective labeling solutions within the security and traceability segment – which include tamper-evident seals, RFID labels and the use of security inks’ said Isidore Leiser, chief executive officer of Stratus Packaging. 

‘We developed the original IXcode concept and designs for a customer partner, and today we produce them under exclusive mandate for the same partner, who is the owner of the patent.’