How Smart Card Payment Systems Help Authorities Tackle Crime
In the 4th and final post in our series on a cashless society, David Orme, SVP Sales and Marketing at IDEX Biometrics looks at how smart card payment systems help authorities tackle. The previous post in our series on a cashless society looked at how utilizing a contactless payment card can reduce risk associated with cash.
Smart card payment systems can be implemented in a variety of ways in many different places. They offer a unique opportunity to protect both consumers and businesses from theft and fraud. In the rare event that data becomes compromised, they can create an audit trail that results in faster turnaround times for authorities to resolve the theft.
Retail Businesses
Retail businesses are one of the most obvious beneficiaries of smart card payment systems. With the incorporation of a fingerprint sensor, these payment systems provide a secure access point that gives both consumers and businesses peace of mind when completing a transaction.
In addition to the security level improvements that fingerprint sensors bring to the table, consumers who use a card instead of cash tend to spend more. This increase in spending benefits businesses in a very obvious way – increased revenue. This is the goal that many businesses chase.
Service Companies
Service companies, from utilities to those providing any type of service-oriented business, can benefit from having the means to conduct secure transactions and ensuring they are properly authorized. With service companies being much more likely to receive complaints from consumers, having an option to have customers securely sign off on payments and services performed can help reduce the negative impact that such reviews or complaints may have on their business.
Service companies that have the ability to use these identifiers to ensure that their customers are exactly who they say they are and accept payments on the spot can increase revenue and open up new opportunities for expansion.
Online Banking Establishments
Online banking is one place where smart card payment systems have an opportunity to make a significant impact on how transactions are processed, and arguably have the most to gain from implementing such technology. Banking transactions are one of the primary concerns of consumers when it comes to security. After all, it is their money that is being protected by whatever security measure has been employed by their financial institution.
Banking establishments that choose to incorporate biometric technology, such as a fingerprint sensor, have an opportunity to report to their customers that they offer the best technology available for protecting their data. It also shows that they are embracing technological change, as well as the changes in the way that consumers conduct financial business.
Biometrics have now well and truly earned their place in our financial futures, and their continued incorporation into transactions that could otherwise deal with cash will continue to move us toward a cashless society.
Smart payment systems will continue to evolve and grow as the technology continues to improve. Their high level of encryption, ease of use, and ability to incorporate a fingerprint sensor into a variety of applications will make this a valuable tool for the financial sector and will change the business and consumer landscape in positive and exciting ways, including reducing cash usage.
The previous post in our series on a cashless society looked at how utilizing a contactless payment card can reduce risk associated with cash.
