Biometric payment cards on the rise as contactless forecast to dominate

Payment cards, and contactless ones in particular, will dominate the banking scene until at least 2025, according to the latest Digital and Card Payments Yearbooks report by PCM, giving biometric payment card-makers a ready target market.

This forecast is in contrast to a recent one from a GlobalData Payments Analyst, who says the momentum behind digital wallets makes it unlikely that biometric payment cards will be widely adopted.

According to the new report, there are almost 1.12 billion cards in circulation across the 33 countries surveyed by PCM. The number represents a 4.83 percent increase from 2020.

In addition, the adoption of contactless cards as a method of payment worldwide accounts for a whopping 73 percent of all card transactions last year, clearly driven by the pandemic’s imposed necessity of touchless payment solutions.

The report mentioned that Europe’s bank branch networks continue to decline at a rate of around six percent per year, as increasingly more financial institutions turn to digital-only solutions.

These include voice biometrics, facial authentication, and two-factor authentication via PIN or biometric factors in remote locations.

In terms of fraud trends, the PCM new data showed a substantial increase in account takeover and user impersonation during the pandemic, calling for more secure digital ID solutions.

Because of the steady adoption of payment cards across several countries in Europe, and the clear decline of legacy bank branches across the continent, some financial institutions and firms have started exploring the potential of biometric payment cards.

Idex Biometrics receives new order for TrustedBio sensors

Idex Biometrics has reported a new volume order for its TrustedBio biometric fingerprint sensors from an unnamed smart card manufacturer as it moves from a pilot to full production.

The firm first began shipping its TrustedBio biometric-system-on-chip (BSoC) last August, and would now be ready for mass production.

“This order is representative of the broad demand acceleration we have been anticipating, and a further indication of the confidence the smart card market is placing in fingerprint biometrics,” commented Vince Graziani, chief executive of Idex Biometrics.

According to the CEO, the unnamed biometric payment card customer is experiencing demand beyond its prior forecasts, together with other current and prospective customers, who are reportedly seeing a similar acceleration in demand.

“The market has recognized the superior cost and performance profiles of our TrustedBio solution, and we anticipate our bookings momentum to expand over the coming months, given the projected growth of biometrically-enabled smart card deployments,” Graziani concluded.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Idex Biometrics  |  secure transactions