Biometrics adoption boom from pandemic expected to continue: Goode and ID R&D survey

By accelerating the shift to digital technologies, the pandemic has created a boom in biometrics adoption, according to The Biometric Survey 2021, jointly carried out by Goode Intelligence and ID R&D.

The survey was published by Goode Intelligence and sponsored by ID R&D, and shows some consistent trends throughout 2021.

The main one was undoubtedly the growing adoption of biometric solutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase in adoption is shown by 62 percent of those surveyed saying their company had increased the deployment of technology supporting remote onboarding and authentication, and 45 percent observing an increase in biometrics adoption directly attributed to COVID-19. More than 6 out of 10 (64 percent) say their organization has prioritized technologies to support remote onboarding and mobile apps.

Just over half of respondents are currently using biometrics (55 percent), with 69 percent of them using the technology for authentication, 75 percent using it for identity verification, and 31 percent using biometrics for fraud detection.

Moreover, 73 percent of respondents described biometric tools as beneficial to user experience, and the benefit was tied for the top one noted by respondents, along with increased security.

“This survey offers important insight into how organizations are viewing biometrics in the COVID-19 era,” commented Alan Goode, CEO and chief analyst at Goode Intelligence. “Even before COVID, organizations have been increasingly turning to biometrics to balance convenience and security for identity verification, authentication, and fraud detection. We expect increasing levels of adoption of biometric technology to combat fraud and support frictionless user experience across all digital channels,” Goode added.

Another clear trend shown by the 25-page report is the increasing concern posed by biometric spoofing, with 40 percent of those surveyed recognizing it as a high or very high threat.

Consequently, the vast majority of respondents (90 percent) mentioned liveness detection as a very important tool in tackling the effects of biometric spoofing attacks.

“The survey results are evidence of companies adopting biometrics to provide users with the convenience and security they demand,” said Alexey Khitrov, president of ID R&D. “It’s also clear that liveness detection is now a must-have technology for onboarding and authentication. We are intensely focused on defending against spoofing attacks without creating friction that lessens the advantages biometrics bring to the user experience,” Khitrov concluded.

The Biometric Survey 2021 was conducted between March and April 2021 and collected responses from 220 individuals from enterprise, government, healthcare, BFSI, and technology sectors.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  fraud prevention  |  Goode Intelligence  |  ID R&D  |  identity verification  |  onboarding  |  remote authentication  |  spoof detection