UK consumer demand for banks to adopt iris recognition nearly doubles in two years

Intelligent Environments has released the results of its 2016 Future Password Index (FPI), which reveals that UK consumer demand for different types of biometric authentication has increased significantly since 2014, with iris recognition surpassing fingerprint technology in demand.

The second annual FPI results showed that 60 percent of consumers would consider using iris recognition technology in 2016 compared to just 33 percent two years ago.

The latest FPI also highlights that facial recognition, heartbeat monitors and voice verification technologies have also increased in popularity.

Vein verification technology makes its debut on this year’s index, which was added following Barclays’ announcement of late 2014 that they were planning on introducing the technology. A total of 37 percent of consumers said they would consider using it.

The research reveals that 37 percent of British consumers consider security a deciding factor when selecting a bank.

In addition, 26 percent of respondents stated their bank could do more to protect their data from hackers and online fraudsters.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of consumers said they would like to use biometric tools to access their bank account, and 29 percent said they would be more likely to use a bank that has biometric security.

Despite its growing consumer demand, biometric adoption remains low with only 13 percent of respondents stating that they currently use fingerprinting, and less than 4 percent stating that they use other forms of biometric authentication.

In recent years, HSBC, Barclays, Atom and MasterCard have all introduced tools such as vein, voice and face authentication technologies.

“Given the increase in high profile cyberattacks over the past couple of years, it’s no surprise that security is increasingly a priority for consumers,” Intelligent Environments CEO Clayton Locke said. “Our previous research shows that traditional PINs and passwords are no longer up to the task of keeping valuable personal and financial details safe.

“Given the clamour for biometrics amongst consumers, those banks who seize the moment and are able to introduce biometric security measures across the board are likely to attract new customers. Over the coming decade, biometrics and security more broadly will undoubtedly become a key battleground within the banking industry where we are likely to see some of the more innovative banks steal a march on their rivals.”

Article Topics

banking  |  biometrics  |  Intelligent Environments  |  iris recognition  |  UK