French banking group Credit Agricole is launching a pilot with Germany's G+D Mobile Security to test whether biometric payment cards using a fingerprint reader can help secure higher value transactions, according to a company release. 

The 6-month study starting this month with 200 users will test the fingerprint technology using contactless payment cards, which usually have limits of $34 (30 Euros) on each transaction. The pilot program, if successful, will be rolled out in full by 2020. 

Mastercard and NXP Semiconductor are also participating in the pilot, which will be the first of its kind in France using this type of authentication technology. 

"The future belongs to payment solutions that are both convenient and secure," Gabrielle Bugat, head of financial service solutions at G+D Mobile Security, said in the release. "Credit Agricole is ringing in this future now with our biometric card solution that ensures at all times the protection of the user through Security by Design," 

The Munich-based mobile security firm is part of the Glesecke+Devrient Group.