Biometrics: the future of payments

Dr Ted Dunstone

Finger print identification - an increasingly standard security feature on new iPhones and other smart devices, which acts as the user's password will become common place in the next few years, a visiting biometrics expert says.

Dr Ted Dunstone said tech companies have identified the mobile platform as the future of payments, but one of the key issues is making a mobile phone a secure system; Apple has rolled out its Apple Pay service and other big retailers in the US are working on their own systems.

"The adoption of biometrics is on an exponential curve and is largely as a result of the financial services and payments industry," said Dunstone.

The core uses of biometric data to date have been largely confined to government agencies such as passports and visa application processing as well as in policing but the technology is now starting to be adopted in consumer level devices.

"Those devices will not just use fingerprint recognition, such as in the iPhone and the Samsung - the latest version of Google comes with face recognition installed...you can configure it so that if it sees your face, it won't ask for your PIN," he said.

Dunstone, the founder of Sydney-based Biometrics Institute - an independent organisation set up in 2001 to promote the responsible use of biometrics, is speaking at the Payments NZ conference, which begins in Auckland this morning.

"The promise of biometrics is that it almost becomes transparent. So when you are using the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 6, you aren't thinking about using the sensor, you are just pressing the home button."

Dunstone's keynote session at the payments, banking and financial services conference will be focused on the uses of biometrics in the industry, the convenience factors and its ability to mitigate fraud.

"It's important for financial services operators that plan to use biometrics to understand... that different biometric devices have different risk profiles," he said.

Payments NZ is owned by eight banks and forms "a central body, dedicated to establishing the best possible guidelines and rules of engagement" in the payments industry.

The biennial conference is a chance for people in the banking and financial services industry to hear from some of the sector's finest minds who will challenge thinking and share insights about the ever-evolving payments landscape Payments NZ chief executive, Steve Wiggins said.

"This event is a great opportunity to engage with a top calibre of speakers and learn from like-minded delegates. The two day programme allows for plenty of opportunities for in depth discussion and quality networking," Wiggins said.

For more information about the conference click here.