Biometrics: Is it the future of payment solutions?

Biometrics payment- The next normal in the world of online payment solutions

Physical money – notes, coins, and checks – have outlived its usability. The global popularity of online payment solutions is pushing the need for a more secure authentication system — cloud-based mobile biometrics are an alternative to traditional authentication procedures. This technology harnesses the biometric features of the users to verify their identity. Biometric payment solutions enhance user experience and offer added security to online transactions. With biometric verification, you will never have to change or even remember a password.

All you will have to do is touch the fingerprint sensor or point the camera at your face and the biometric software will take care of the rest.

In layman’s term, Biometric payment solutions compare the data from the new scan to the encrypted data in the database and either approves or declines the transaction. If approved, the funds are electronically transferred from the shopper’s account to the merchant. As per the report, the biometrics payment market is clearly set to grow at a robust 21.38 percent CAGR by the year 2026. With biometric payment solutions, it can be implemented via mobile devices; most smartphones have built-in biometric sensors for this. You can also use a USB cable or Wi-Fi to connect portable biometric gear to it.

How biometric technology is transforming digital payments?

India offers an example of how various policy reforms related to digital finance – including the transformation of the traditional banking system with the central bank playing a pivotal role – can solve many of the challenges of inclusive financial development that once seemed out of reach. In 2009, when the Aadhaar program, the world’s first initiative to provide biometric identity, was launched for all Indians – India created several innovative online payment solutions, built as public goods. 

With the advancement in technology, financial institutions such as banks and NBFCs have inculcated eKYC regulations before providing any financial service to customers. You only have to provide your 12-digit Aadhaar number along with biometrics such as fingerprints. Furthermore, one of the primary drivers boosting demand for the industry is the rising usage of biometrics in ecommerce, internet banking, cloud computing systems, and smartphones with biometric technology. Online payment solution providers are also indulging in this biometric identification for a cash-free world. Let’s dig down a few more pointers with which the customers are in complete awe of the solution. 

• Enhances Security

Banks try their best to ensure that their customer data is safe and protected with passwords and PINS. But customers are still at risk of fraud while using online payment solutions. User information can easily be protected from unauthorized bodies by using biometric single sign-on (SSO), a password management technology.

• Multiple Options and Ease of Operation

Users can choose from a variety of biometric identification mechanisms, including fingerprint, retina, voice, facial recognition, and more. For mobile banking apps, fingerprint and Touch ID sign-in can assist you to avoid having to remember passwords.

• Brings Multi-Factor Security Approach

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) relates to the use of multiple biometric authentication methods. For example, combining fingerprint recognition with retina, voice, or facial recognition. Multi-factor authentication makes it hard for hackers to tamper with customer accounts. 

• No PIN required

Remembering PIN numbers can be difficult especially for credit or debit cards that we use less frequently. Biometric payment does away with the need to remember these numbers altogether and saves consumers the stress of remembering multiple PINs for different accounts.  

• Quick onboarding

A smooth onboarding process is essential when attracting new customers. This is where biometrics in finances comes to play. With a fingerprint scan, customers can quickly verify who they say they are and begin to use your services right away. 

How does fingerprint payment work in person?

Biometric technology may not be new but its application is becoming more and more widespread in everyday life and increasingly sophisticated when used as part of security and surveillance systems. Take for example, there is a shopper at a store that is operating on this online payment solutions.

1. The shopper registers for the biometric program in a store as he has just entered the store. (not a long procedure, gets completed in few moments)
2. The shopper presently scans his finger, and the fingerscan reader encrypts multiple point-to-point fingerprint measurements before saving the customer’s biometric data and banking information in a centralized repository. 
3. After he is done making rounds in the store and selecting his items, he can now opt for biometric payment which is totally contactless and cashless.
4. The shopper scans his finger at the checkout with the store’s electronic reader and enters his personal identification number. 
5. When the data from the fresh scan is compared to the encrypted data in the database, the electronic reader at the counter approves or denies the transaction. 
6. If the data is matched, the transaction is done at the very moment and he can move on. 

Wrapping up:

Futuristic approach towards a cashless society

Digital online payment solutions are growing fast in India, as consumers are choosing touch-free, safe and seamless ways to pay. Further adding biometrics to the contactless payment card will only increase security and allow for hygienic and contactless payments for all transactions. It is not a far-fetched dream that biometric will soon become the norm for purchases both in-person and online.