Fight the Fraudsters with Biometric Identification

Welcome to our 4-part blog series on Giving the Finger to Fraud. In this first post, David Orme, SVP of Sales and Marketing at IDEX Biometrics looks at how we can fight fraudsters with Biometric Identification.

While we are taking a leap from a technology-assisted world to a technology-driven world, the fraudsters are also vying for building better mousetraps for both online and regular payment card users. If you are one of those users who are dependent on the highly-fallible PIN and password security, then it’s time you reconsider your steps and fight the menace of payment card fraudulence. The question is what measures can be taken to stop the fraudsters and thrive towards a foolproof payment security system. Let’s find out!

Alarming reports on fraud

According to the 2018 AFP Payments Fraud Survey, about 78% of all financial organisations were hit by payment fraud cases where corporate card fraud was nearly 30%.

As per the latest BBC news report, a total of £236m was lost in 2017, with banks unable to return nearly 74% of the money lost.

Spamlaws affirms, the majority of credit card frauds are the result of counterfeit credit cards, lost or stolen cards, identity theft fraud and non-receipt fraud.

These alarming reports are just a scratch on the surface of payment fraudulence and we will continue to see an increase if the payment ecosystem does not evolve to incorporate high-end security measures.

Global payment regulations and why it calls for a change

Payment regulations vary from country to country but there are specific regulations and standards that are common to most of the developed nations. Payment regulation protocols include the use of a certificate from an authorised body for securing credit and debit card transactions in North America, European Union, and many other countries. This, however, is not the answer to a safe payment method as it is not completely validated by all regulatory bodies to assure 100% secure payments. What might be the probable reasons behind this situation? According to a survey by researchers from Oxford University and MasterCard, only 36% of financial industry professionals are familiar with the concept of biometrics. A substantial proportion of financial regulators are unable to cope with the ever-evolving nuances of biometric technology leading to a lack of effective communication among different regulators in certain countries. It’s time the regulatory bodies count on the field experts to better understand the high-end security specifications of biometric technology and incorporate these into global payment regulations.

How Is Biometric identification a solution?

Biometric identification is a foolproof solution for secure payment transactions. The technology involves authentication of the user’s identity, including fingerprint technology to eliminate the chances of fraudsters counterfeiting or stealing payment cards. PINs are susceptible to loss or theft to the prying eyes of highly-skilled hackers. Furthermore, the costs of pin maintenance systems are far higher than biometric authentication systems. Let’s find out how the biometric payment system can change the ballgame.

Benefits of IDEX biometric payment cards include:

  • Innovative design: The authentication process is uniquely personal and exclusive to the user with a thin, small and pliable card.
  • Easy enrollment: The user of the card can enroll themselves as its rightful holder by placing their finger on the sensor (with the aid of a small device that comes with the card in the mail). They do not have to visit a bank or upload biometric data to any central database.
  • Functionality: IDEX Biometrics’ “off-chip capacitive fingerprint sensing” technology separates the fingerprint sensor from the chip that process information it collects. This leads to high-quality fingerprint imaging, optimised biometric performance and outstanding user experience. It also allows users to record their fingerprint at many different angles – so the card can always recognize the user no matter how they hold the sensor
  • Strong performance: The card works on a no-battery system. It has low power consumption and can operate using the power from a POS terminal. The cards also have world class biometric algorithms
  • High security: Unlike standard four-digit PIN system which is highly unsecure, biometric fingerprint technology is recognised as secure, offering a 99 per cent level of certainty.
  • High Speed: Instead of a series of verification process, Idex Biometrics ensures instant biometric authorization. Considering there are 7 billion non-credit and debit card payments every year, that could be 10s of billions of hours saved
  • Works with existing POS infrastructure: IDEX Biometrics cards work with existing contact and contactless terminals
  • Volume: IDEX Biometrics’ cards are ready for cost-effective mass-market production.

With the arrival of simple, secure and personal authentication for all, biometric cards can be effectively used in not just banking sectors but also healthcare, access control and for government ID. The adoption rate of biometric systems is already gaining ground in many different sectors worldwide and it is expected to take a quantum leap in the years to come. To learn more about biometric security solutions click here.

Our next post in Giving the Finger to Fraud looks at the future of consumer security in the digital environment.

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