Face biometrics increasing importance for travel and financial services draws big bucks

Biometrics contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars were unveiled, along with the usual series of more commonplace financial services implementations. American’s biometric passports will be made by Thales and Infineon, and read by Idemia I&S scanners at airports. Entrust is working on the UK’s ETA app, which uses a similar selfie biometrics check to the KYC processes Shufti Pro and Mastercard are bringing to new clients. More of those deals are coming, with regulators encouraging stronger identity verification.

Top biometrics news of the week

Speculation is ramping up ahead of a proposed Idemia sale about how the transaction could proceed, and who could be involved. One possibility floated by a French publication is that the company’s biometrics and cybersecurity business, which employs 15,000 people and made $2.85 billion in profit last year, could be split off and sold separately, which could entice more bidders to participate.

Idemia is up to 60 million smart ID cards issued to federal agencies in the Americas, according to a Tweet celebrating the milestone. The company’s physical and digital credentials, including PIVs and CACs are used to secure buildings and document access alike.

The conglomerate’s business serving the U.S. government, Idemia I&S, won a $128 million contract with the TSA to provide its CAT2 system to airports across the nation. The CAT2 combines ID document verification with traveller identity verification through face biometrics, and Idemia will provide test support, maintenance and training in addition to the gear.

American biometric passports will be made by Infineon and Thales, meanwhile, under a 10-year contract with an undisclosed dollar value. The contract includes chips, software and packaging, for what a U.S. official claimed is the world’s most secure passport.

An iProov webinar explores how U.S. state DMVs ended up as the country’s de-facto identity authorities, and how they will play that role as digital IDs roll out. ADOT Director Eric Jorgensen tells iProov’s Ajay Amlani that the use of social security numbers and ancient computers have hindered strong identity proofing, and DMVs ability to do something about it.

Entrust has won a contract with the UK Home Office worth up £91 million (US$113 million) to support the remote application for Electronic Travel Authorization. The forthcoming mobile ETA process involves using an app to scan a digital identity document for comparison to selfie biometrics.

Selfie biometrics are being mandated for digital banking in Pakistan, and the Philippines has updated its KYC policy to direct compliance efforts by the country’s financial institutions. SmartSearch has updated its platform, Entersekt has survey results about user attitudes towards authentication, Shufti Pro and Mastercard have signed up identity verification customers, and Veriff launched resources for KYC education.

India’s efforts to promote its vision for digital public infrastructure are reportedly not being as warmly received by the G7. Anonymous sources are blaming financial services giants like Visa and Mastercard for the pushback, which is apparently in contrast to interest from governments in developing nations.

Ethiopia’s parliament has approved a legal framework to operationalize its digital identity system, which a policy advisor says will enable the country to transform its economy. Across the continent in Ghana, meanwhile, the national digital ID card has addressed a long-standing problem and will enable further development, according to the VP. A group previously held stateless in Kenya is now eligible for identity documents recognizing their citizenship.

Cryptomathic EVP Guillaume Forget tells Biometric Update in an interview that many sectors that are expected to rely on the European Digital Identity Wallet are not ready to take on the associated cybersecurity challenges. The company argues in a white paper that the EUDI Wallet will be attacked at both the level of the app and the communication channels between stakeholders.

Regulators are getting caught up in a global freakout about artificial intelligence, and handling it in diverse ways.  The EU is angling towards setting the pace in global regulation, while the U.S. is early in the consultation process, and the UK is stating aspirations.

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Article Topics

biometrics  |  cybersecurity  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  selfie biometrics  |  week in review