7 Trends in Biometric Technology as It Applies to FinTech

Mitigating security breach risk & protecting data of customers is one of many concerns that need to be addressed with innovative tech solutions and methods. Biometric authentication is one such solution. With swift innovation, new companies are now providing convenient and secure authentication processes.

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Governments and various industry sectors are aiminig to implement mobile biometrics to speed up biometric authentication processes. Individual biometric identification can be done on a mobile device either through the biometric sensors that are built-in or by attaching portable biometric hardware through a USB cable or Wi-Fi connection. As a result, the global biometric authentication and identification market is expected to undergo considerable growth over the next five years. According to Grand View Research, the market size for biometrics is expected to reach $24.59 billion in the next six years.

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Some major tech and market trends in the segment:

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1. Biometrics is expanding to retail & consumer markets to address problems with current PIN & password auth

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Current authentication methods do not provide enough security. Passwords can be socially engineered or hacked from personal information available on social media. And PINs are not unique; 20 of the most common combinations represent over 25% of four-digit passwords in use. Microsoft and Intel are implementing biometric authentication in their products to protect users. Biometric single sign-on (SSO) is a biometric password management technique that secures networks and passwords as well as protects data from security breaches & unauthorized access.

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2. Smartphone manufacturers are now turning to biometrics to authenticate device access

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Global biometric smartphone users will hit 471 million in 2017, up from 43.23 million in 2018. (Source: Biometrics Go Mobile: A Market Overview). According to Gartner, 30% of mobile devices will be using biometric authentication by 2016.

3. Biometric modalities fueling the growth in consumer & retail are focused more on convenience compared to security

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Different methods of biometric authentication exist such as retina, fingerprint, voice, facial, heartbeat, and others. The least secure modality, fingerprint biometrics, is becoming mainstream, with annual sensor shipments estimated at 1.4 billion units by 2020, up from 317 million in 2014. Bank of America recently introduced fingerprint and Touch ID sign-in for its mobile banking apps. With this feature, customers can use their fingerprints as a passcode for their mobile banking app. The main aim behind this new authentication facility is to provide its customers with secure and convenient banking. The new feature from banks will remove the need for text-based passwords from users.

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4. Biometric solutions are being deployed for multiple payment use cases, including leveraging smartphones for POS purchases, and using biometrics as a second form of authentication at ATMs.

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For example, Apple Pay is making mobile POS payments via smartphones much more secure by using fingerprinting in its Apple TouchID biometric system to verify a user’s identity and simplify the online and mobile process. Earlier, Touch ID was limited to the App Store, iTunes purchases and unlocking the device. The announcement caught the attention of banks, and we witnessed Touch ID being used for accessing mobile banking services. Some banks that have already adopted Touch ID in their mobile banking apps are American Express, ING Bank, OutBank DE, and Deutsche Bank.

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5. Biometrics for mobile banking

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Biometric authentication seems to be an absolute must-have in the near future for banks, especially taking into consideration how mobile banking is getting popular. It seems to be a milestone when considering the future of mobile applications. If banks desire to remain competitive, they should anticipate customers’ expectations and needs. However, the key idea is to combine innovations with taking care of clients’ convenience and payments’ safety.

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6. Multifactor biometric authentication

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Organizations are now seriously considering multi-factor biometrics like fingerprint, retina, voice, retina, facial, and heartbeat for authentication as it has a lot of significance in online/mobile banking. Banks have started working with technology firms, developers, and startups to create foolproof authentication systems, which will be the key to a great mobile banking and mobile payments experience. By identifying a customer’s face, voice, and mobile device, biometric authentication makes it extremely difficult to spoof the true user.

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7. Industry-specialized biometric solutions

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Various kinds of solutions are designed to meet the unique demand of respective industries. The solutions are customized according to the local and international industrial laws and standards. For example, adopting a modern approach to identification leveraging digital identity can significantly improve member experience while delivering data security and cost reduction in healthcare institutions. Phone-Centric Identity™, which relies on billions of signals pulled in real-time from authoritative sources, including those on mobile devices and phone numbers, is a powerful proxy for digital identity and trust. Digital ID, if implemented in a tokenized form, eliminates the need for members to exchange personal information during each transaction, thereby making the interaction secure.

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To learn about Prove’s identity solutions and how to accelerate revenue while mitigating fraud, schedule a demo today.