How Biometric Payment Cards Facilitate the Move Toward a Cashless Society
Welcome to our 4-part blog series on a cashless society. In this first post, David Orme, SVP Sales and Marketing at IDEX Biometrics reviews how biometric payment cards will facilitate the move toward a cashless society.
Biometrics have come a long way since their first introduction to the public, and their progress has made it possible to integrate them nearly anywhere you can imagine. Smart payment cards are one such example. With the creation of an extremely thin and flexible fingerprint sensor has come the ability to implant sensors into cards, making them more secure than ever.
Biometrics are the Identifiers of the Future
A variety of measures have appeared over the years that were designed to protect financial information. User names, passwords and pin numbers are all items that are still in use for security, but they have become a less desirable option for protecting both consumer and business data. Since many people use names, pins and passwords that are based on things they know, they are often easily guessed by intrepid hackers. The lack of security concerns many, and this is where biometrics come in.
Biometric technology creates a one-of-a-kind identifier for an individual. This identifier, such as a fingerprint, is unique to the individual. This makes it difficult to duplicate or fake and an outstanding form of security. These identifiers are how we will share personal data in the future and prove our identities.
A Cashless Society Has Never Made More Sense
With the advancement of biometric technology, a cashless society has never made more sense than it does now. Many countries are reducing the amount of cash they handle organically by including biometric data in security measures, enabling consumers and businesses to conduct transactions confidently and securely. This has naturally led to an increase in card usage and a decline in cash usage.
As more countries, businesses and individuals adopt this technology, the cash reduction will continue. Many countries are already building plans to incorporate these changes and planning for how society will handle these changes as they occur.
Including the Excluded
Biometrics present a unique opportunity to include typically excluded populations. The advent of cryptocurrencies, for example, may reduce the need for traditional banks and open up opportunities for those who would not normally be able to obtain a bank account. This will help them incorporate into the digital age and provide them with an opportunity to do so securely.
A cashless society may seem like many to be a dream, but it is becoming more of a reality with each technological advancement. Biometrics are our identifiers of the future, and their continued development and incorporation into everyday transactions makes the possibility of a cashless society very real.
Sweden is an excellent example of this potential reality, reporting that only two percent of the country’s transactions are now cash-based. While the option to pay with cash remains, it appears more and more people are turning toward payment cards for their needs. Biometric payment cards will further facilitate this logical shift.
