Mobility and finance have long been major areas of excitement, innovation, and adoption in biometrics, and that trend held strong in 2016. From the get go, this year has seen substantial momentum in both areas of biometric application, and for good reason: mobility, biometrics, and financial services are positively linked. As innovations in mobility allow for strong and convenient authentication on a large scale, financial services providers are given a platform from which they can take steps toward ditching PINs and passwords in favor of better options.
An interesting way to understand the link between mobility and biometric FinTech is to look at the year’s biggest conferences in said verticals and find the connecting threads. In 2016 FindBiometrics participated in two Mobile World Congress and two Money20/20 events respectively. Reflecting on the prominent role that biometrics played at these conferences paints a picture of the activity in mobility, finance, and identity throughout the year.
The following are some identity-focused highlights from the biggest mobility and financial technology conferences of the year. Take a look:
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Mobile World Congress
FindBiometrics was at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last winter. I judged the GLOMO Awards while FindBiometrics president and founder Peter O’Neill went hands-on with Mastercard’s then-new Identity Check app, and Visa asserted its position on biometrics. Both of those financial services giants essentially set the stage for a massive year of biometric innovation and adoption while mobile brands like Sony Xperia showcased biometric offerings. It was a strong start to the year in bimetric mobility and finance. Look back on some of the Mobile World Congress Highlights:
MWC 2016: A Personal Tour of MasterCard’s Biometrics
MWC 2016: Sony’s Xperia Peripherals Feature Speech, Face Biometrics
MWC 2016: Visa Weighs in on Biometrics
Money20/20 Europe
The financial biometrics momentum on display at Mobile World Congress continued through the year and at Money20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, we saw biometrics take the spotlight. Both Mastercard and Visa doubled down on their digital identity initiatives – Visa in particular made biometrics innovation a centerpiece to its presence, showcasing iris recognition in addition to its Scan & Pay concept developed with Safran Identity & Security. We also saw all the big mobile wallets (save Apple Pay), lay out their roadmaps and address the role identity plays in the payments space. FindBiometrics was there too, bringing the biometrics conversation to the stage. Our panel, “Biometric identity and its applications in financial services and payments,” brought together leading experts in biometrics with prominent voices in financial services.
Take a closer look at Money20/20 Europe’s big biometrics events below:
Money20/20 Europe: MasterCard and Digital Identity
Money20/20 Europe: Biometrics Are a Pillar of Samsung Pay
Money20/20 Europe: Morpho Showcases ‘Scan & Pay’ Concept
What to Expect at Money20/20 Europe
HSBC Joins Money20/20 Europe Biometrics Panel
Mobile World Congress Shanghai
A few months later we made our way to China for Mobile World Congress Shanghai. Identity and personalization were top topics at the biggest mobile event in Asia, where Peter O’Neill moderated two panels on security, connectivity, and identity management. One of the big takeaways from MWC Shanghai was the advantages that mobile companies who have embraced biometrics have over their competition. Take a look at some of our MWC Shanghai coverage from the summer:
Three Trends From MWC Shanghai
MWC Shanghai: Sensory’s AppLock Reveals Users’ Biometrics Habits
Watch: Identity & Personalisation Keynotes From MWC Shanghai
MWC Shanghai: NTT Docomo ‘Five to Ten Years Ahead of Peers’ says CEO
Biometrics and Identity Management At MWC Shanghai on Day 1
FindBiometrics President Peter O’Neill To Moderate Two Sessions At MWC Shanghai
Money20/20 2016
Innovations announced at the start of the year at Mobile World Congress had come to fruition by the end of October when we gathered in Las Vegas for Money20/20 proper, and the hype around biometrics at the evnt was unmatched. FindBiometrics was there once again, hosting an expert panel consisting of biometrics professionals and big names in financial services, filling the event venue to its capacity of 1000 persons (the fire marshal had to close the doors on the hall). Mastercard announced the North American launch of Identity Check, capping off the year, and each of the mobile wallets made giant expansions in terms of online acceptance.
Here’s a collection of the biggest biometric happenings from Money20/20 2016:
Industry Expert Highlights Biometrics Theme of Money20/20 2016
FIDO Celebrates Money20/20 Success
Biometrics Panel Sells Out at Money20/20 – 1,000 FinTech Execs Attending
Biometrics and Identity at Money20/20 – Pt. 1
Money20/20: AI Banking Assistant ‘Eva’ Can Recognize Speech and Voices
Money20/20: Identity Check Mobile to Launch in North America in First Half of 2017
Money20/20: Google, Visa & Mastercard Bring Android Pay To ‘Hundreds of Thousands Of New Sites’
Money20/20: FIDO Developing mPayment Standard with EMVCo
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Be sure to take our 2016 FindBiometrics Year in Review Survey. Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the most important global identity management news.
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December 14, 2016 – by Peter B. Counter
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