Let’s understand how biometric authentication in mobile is revolutionizing the current banking and financial services and the industry.
“Biometrics” has been a buzzword on trend these days and this mechanism has an influx of pilot schemes that have confirmed that biometric revolution is no longer a distant fantasy, but rather a pressing reality through biometric authentication in mobiles. The biometric smart card is approaching its inflection point after a number of successful trials using fingerprint sensor technology within smart cards across multiple markets (including Bulgaria, the United States, Mexico, Cyprus, Japan, the Middle East, and South Africa). Key players in the banking industry such as Visa and Mastercard believe that biometrics are expected to play a key role in the payments revolution. As a result, many financial institutions are upgrading their mobile authentication strategy and investigating biometrics as a replacement for PIN/passwords, and even digitally signing sensitive transactions. They understand that this improves the user experience for everyday banking operations.
How Accurate Is It?
Biometric technology has been used by law enforcement agencies and governments for accurate identification for many years, and it has proven to be extremely effective in tracking data. By ensuring that the right person has access to the right information, biometric password management improves authentication accuracy. Biometric technology, on the other hand, does not always work. Eyeprint ID won’t work if you can’t hold your mobile device still enough for the scanner, and some iris scanners won’t work with coloured contacts.
Using Biometrics In Mobile Banking
Strong mobile banking infrastructures are built on the foundation of the highest levels of digital security, and the use of biometric technology has only accelerated that process. Iris scans, which incorporate critical aspects of biometric identification systems such as facial recognition, voice recognition, and fingerprint scans, are quickly becoming the go-to security standards around the world. This has led to a popular belief that biometrics will soon completely replace PINs, making them outdated. According to research, 56 percent of consumers trust biometric techniques to verify transactions, and the market is expected to reach $24.59 billion by 2023.
The days of password-protected transactions at counters will soon be a thing of the past. According to the Indian Institute of Management, 82% of Indians decide whether or not to use mobile banking apps based on the technology’s ease of use and ability to protect users’ privacy. Furthermore, the smartphone has changed the biometrics market in mobile banking. Smartphone cameras, fingerprint sensors, and microphones now allow users to capture their own facial, fingerprint, and voice characteristics using their own hardware, paving the way for “multi-factor” biometrics. The digitally empowered banking customer has leveled up once again with mobile biometrics. Mobile biometrics has added a new dimension to mobile banking, from reduced fraud and faster transactions to increased accuracy and authentication. Biometrics technologies have the advantage of being organically integrated at various stages of a customer’s interaction with your product – for example, to access the banking app, validate a payment, confirm a sensitive account action, and so on. After all, the most common form of behavioural biometrics, such as a finger scan, is far more practical than any custom PIN. Biometrics, along with other cutting-edge approaches to cyber security, can help strike a balance between the need for increased security and the desire for convenience. For example, HSBC was one of the first banks in the UK to support Voice IDs and Touch IDs for customer authentication when customers wanted to access some banking services through the phone or maybe log into the mobile banking app for different purposes. It’s safe to say that biometric technology will be the next big thing in finance, embraced across all industries.
Biometric Authentication
Single-factor authentication and multi-factor authentication are the most common authentication schemes used in mobile banking.
Single-factor authentication
The use of authentication credentials, such as a user name and password, is referred to as single-factor authentication. The disadvantage of this scheme is that using various algorithms, passwords can be easily guessed and stolen.
Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication relies on a combination of two factors: something you own and something you know. It entails the use of two factors: static passwords and one-time passwords generated by small devices. This scheme, while providing a higher level of security than single-factor authentication, is unreliable. Unauthorized access to mobile devices is always a possibility, so OTPs can be easily stolen.
Given the flaws of single-factor and multi-factor authentication schemes, it is concluded that more secure authentication mechanisms should be implemented in mobile banking. In this case, a review of various biometric techniques is required in order to select the best one for use in the authentication system.
Forging through biometrics in mobile banking
Biometric identification technology is difficult, if not impossible, to forge, which means that the banking and financial services industry can drastically reduce or even eliminate losses caused by customer identity theft and fraud by using biometrics. Biometric technology is already being used by many banks around the world for customer identification, and many more are on their way.
Biometrics in banking, as a reliable means of identification, can close the gaps in banking security systems that criminals constantly try to exploit. Biometrics can be used to protect a wide range of banking transactions, including:
- Branch banking
- Internet banking
- Mobile banking
- ATM networks
Adopting biometrics for customer identification in a banking system secures transactions and provides a slew of other advantages that have already been proven to benefit the industry as a whole.
