Zwipe publishes report on biometric authentication solutions for payments
Zwipe has released a report on biometric authentication solutions for payments. The report is based upon market research features interviews with 15 leading international experts from academia, financial institutions and solution providers.
Zwipe is a Norwegian-based biometric technology firm that is focused on developing and commercializing secure, fast and easy-to-use biometric authentication solutions in three key areas: payments, access control and identification.
Zwipe’s report, targeted at industry players, aims to highlight developments in payment biometrics, specifically focused on trends driving the ecosystem.
The report notes that over the last five years, “biometrics have expanded rapidly across the consumer space, used for unlocking smartphones, approving e-commerce payments and “on-boarding” new customers. The report also states that the drivers of biometric uptake include: “growing consumer comfort with them, largely thanks to biometric-embedded smartphones, along with the frustrations experienced by password inflation in a 24/7 digital age, and the growing sophistication of cyber crime.”
Zwipe’s report further makes recommendation concerning the biometric data storage. The report states that “centralizing biometric information can help reduce risk” and also notes “where breaches of personal phone security might go undiscovered, banks that store information centrally can observe and defend against attacks”. Localized data means that the information is not stored on a central ‘cloud’ which could be hacked, according to report. The report specifically notes that “co-location of biometric information can help overcome the limits of both centralized and localized data storage.”
The report also suggests that companies can also do more to stress-test their systems, such as hiring ‘hacker’ firms who can put technologies to the test, and use communications to educate consumers about the steps they take to enhance security.
The in-depth report provides a deep examination of multiple biometric modalities, including fingerprint, palm, voice, eye scanning and facial recognition. The report further undertakes some consideration of regulatory questions raised by governments concerning data security, along with financial institutions concerns about handing over security to technology firms, or being “locked” into device-specific solutions. The report ultimately suggests that “collaboration and dialogue between the different stakeholders, including over regulatory questions such as privacy, protection and scope creep, can help all stakeholders find middle ground and appropriate compromises”.
The report is available for immediate access and download.
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