Apple working on mobile eWallets with biometrics

Apple might continue to dominate the market due to its proposed purchase of AuthenTec for more than US$356 million. AuthenTec was developing a fingerprint reading device that Apple might be keen in installing in its future line of gadgets and mobile phones. More specifically, the company is expected to integrate the new fingerprint technology in their smart phone devices to aid not only in enhancing security, but to provide consumers with eWallets.

In the future, there will be more cashless payments conducted by the average consumer. This means that more people will rely on their mobile phones to pay for their purchases, rather than on paper money. For this reason, mobile devices must be armed with superior quality security systems to make them reliable to conducting transactions.

Currently, most smart phones are armed with NFC chips that can be used to make payments. NFC, or near field communication, is what most cash registers will recognize in the future. With NFC, all the user has to do is hold their smart phone close enough to a receiver to be read by the machine and for the transaction to be completed. This is reliable but the integration of biometrics can make transactions even more secure.

Biometric technology will soon be implanted on newer smart phone models to make these devices extremely secure. After all, nobody can easily copy a fingerprint pattern, much less an image of a network of blood vessels located just underneath the skin’s surface. The latest fingerprint readers are equipped with this kind of technology and interested parties are scrambling for a way to get it on their mobile phones.

Will biometric-enabled eWallets eventually take the place of paper money?

Article Topics

Apple  |  AuthenTec  |  biometrics  |  financial services  |  fingerprint  |  fingerprint reader  |  mobile  |  smart phones