The Financial ID Briefing brings you top highlights from the world of biometrics, mobile ID, and finance. It is powered by FindBiometrics and Money20/20.
Siri, Be My Financial Assistant
Convenience is a fundamental adoption factor in biometric FinTech, and with advances in artificial intelligence and speech recognition, we are on the verge of a major breakthrough in banking convenience. Barclays recently broke new ground in this respect, announcing that it has become the first company in the world to allow its customers to make payments using Apple’s AI assistant, Siri. Users of the Barclays Mobile Banking app can initiate payments transactions by simply speaking a command like, “Siri, pay Greg thirty pounds with Barclays.”
Of course, convenience is only half of the biometric equation, and while Siri offers some modicum of speaker recognition, the Barclays Mobile Banking app still protects transactions with Touch ID fingerprint security. After commanding Siri to make a payment, a user simply touches the fingerprint sensor on her iPhone to authorize the transfer of funds.
Next-gen Plastic
The biometric Mastercard completed its European trial earlier this month, which was met with positive feedback. Ninety-three percent of the trial’s participants reported that using biometric technology was more convenient than PIN security, and 90 percent indicated that they would upgrade to biometric cards if provided the chance.
Mastercard’s biometric payment card is a high-profile example of a major trend in fingerprint biometrics. Bursting onto the scene earlier this year after the announcement of successful African region trials, the biometric Mastercard uses IDEX fingerprint sensor technology and OT-Morpho biometric software.
Banking With Eyeballs
As iris biometrics continue to become available on flagship smartphones such as the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Note8, the eye-based modality is beginning to catch on in consumer-facing FinTech. Iris recognition is a supported authentication factor for the Samsung Pay mobile wallet, as well as Mastercard’s Identity Check platform, but it’s also making it to banks.
Starting in September, TSB Bank customers in the UK who use Galaxy smartphones to access their mobile banking apps will be able to login by scanning their eyes. Meanwhile, reports show that iris banking may catch on stateside too, with Bank of America exploring the idea of using Samsung’s iris sensors for mobile user authentication.
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August 24, 2017 – by Peter B. Counter
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