We propose a small size fingerprint matching algorithm (4 KB) that can be executed on devices with a low computational power and a limited memory size. The algorithm is based on matching features that are invariant with respect to major
transformations like translation and rotation. The matching algorithm has been implemented on a smartcard over the Java Card TM platform. The algorithm has an asymmetric behavior, with respect to the execution time that varies between correct positive and negative matches. The performance in terms of authentication reliability was tested on some databases from the Fingerprint Verification Competition 2002 (FVC2002) .