OREANDA-NEWS. September 22, 2015. “Since Apple launched the iPhone 5, interest in biometrics as security has surged as consumers have become more and more accustomed to using the technology,” says Tony Virdi. “With biometric technology in passports now commonplace and already being used on devices such as laptops, for several years, it is understandable why it is becoming more acceptable in our day-to-day lives.” Excerpts:

“Today, UK banks like Barclays, RBS and NatWest are already offering customers biometric authentication for access to mobile banking services, while the technology is also used around the world for ATMs, internet banking via laptops or desktops and in branches to boost security, provide faster in-branch banking, and improved customer service. It is clear that the potential to improve the customer experience as well as provide an additional method to address problems of identity theft and fraud is huge.

It is not just biometrics using fingerprints or veins that are experiencing more adoption: by incorporating voice and speech recognition tools, as well as GPS technology, banks can also enhance the speed, accuracy and quality of identifying customers and location-based services that they offer. Some banks are even exploring how to use a person’s heartbeat as another unique identification metric.

Beyond customer-facing technology, financial institutions, along with many other types of businesses, are looking at how deploying biometric technologies can control access to secure buildings or, for example, key areas such as data centers, which could be the source of potential attack.

Crucially, with biometrics able to identify an individual, the risk of fraud and password sharing is eliminated. For example, with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 6, the company suggested that it is not worth stealing the phones, given the biometric identification and relative impossibility to break into a stolen device.

As the technology evolves in the years ahead, it is crucial that these newer automated systems are developed carefully, so that we can build confidence in them and set a path to a more secure, more efficient future. Most businesses will not blindly commit to biometric identification solutions.”