Deloitte: Mobile biometrics poised for payments future
27 May, 2014
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A new Deloitte University Press report details the importance of mobile technology in the future of payments. The report cited a number of advantages that mobile solutions can provide, including biometrics. It is capability that financial services could leverage to make customer interactions easier and more secure.
As for modalities, the Deloitte report notes that financial services companies are increasingly using voice biometrics for authentication, but it suggest that voice may only be the tip of the iceberg. In the coming years, more advanced biometric solutions such as palm, iris and facial recognition are expected to be embedded in mobile devices.
In polling the survey’s 2,193 respondents, Deloitte found that nearly two-thirds of smartphone users said they would find it valuable to use biometric identification – fingerprint, voice scan, or retinal scan – on mobile devices for ATM transactions and payments.
However, respondents’ comfort level with biometric authentication and encryption decreased as the amount of the transaction increased. Consumers who reported being comfortable with biometrics dropped from 26% for a transaction size of $1,000 down to only 11% for a transaction worth $10,000, suggesting biometric solutions may initially be more successful for smaller value transactions.
The trajectory and development of mobile devices will also play a role in biometrics’ adoption. On-board sensors in mobile devices can already detect movement, light, sound and position.
It is reasonable to assume that device security could be improved alongside developments in these sensors. Biometric identification via the use of accelerometers is already being tested to determine whether a user’s physical movements – such as gait or hand gestures – could be used for identification and authentication.
Mobile biometrics is anything but a finished product, as the growth and development of the technology is poised to evolve at a rapid rate. The Deloitte findings, however, suggest that interest in the technology is strong.
For more, see Deloitte University Press’ full report here.