What Does Biometric Authentication Mean For Point-Of-Sale Terminals?

Biometrics is becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives. Whether it’s using facial recognition to unlock a smartphone, or as part of airport security protocols, biometric technology is here to stay. Yet there is still some confusion, particularly when it comes to the use of biometrics for point-of-sale terminals.

Retailers Experience of Biometrics

Biometrics can play a valuable part in ensuring that bricks and mortar retail outlets deliver a fast and secure service for their customers. However, many retailers still lack the experience or understanding of this technology. Biometrics can enable customers to carry out their transactions promptly and without the need to remember a PIN or worry about transaction limits when using their card’s contactless payment function. Using biometrics as a means of authentication is proven to reduce instances of “card present” fraud, too. This is a technology that retailers should embrace for myriad reasons.

So what are the misconceptions about biometric verification technology that may be a concern for retailers? In reality, there is no need to invest in new point-of-sale terminals as biometric payment cards with fingerprint sensors built work perfectly well with existing point-of-sale terminals. Retailers don’t need to invest in new devices in order to enjoy the many benefits of biometric technology. In addition, for retailers that also operate online, biometrics delivers a number of compelling advantages. When used with the NFC function on many modern smartphones, a payment card with an integrated fingerprint sensor can allow for multi-factor authentication for customers, which is the optimum way to manage online security for customer accounts while enabling quick and convenient payments.

The Benefits of Biometric Authentication

For customers, switching to a smart payment card with a built-in fingerprint sensor offers a range of benefits. There is no longer any need to remember a PIN when accessing services online. This immediately makes such payment cards a better choice for those who may struggle to remember these details, such as the elderly or people with additional needs, or simply any of us who deal with a multitude of PINs and passwords on a daily basis

Biometric payment cards bring significant benefits. The robust nature of the authentication means that there is no longer a need for transaction limits when paying contactless. Without the requirement for a PIN or password, transactions can be carried out far more rapidly, offering consumers greater convenience. With biometric data being encrypted and never leaving the card, security concerns are further alleviated. For retailers, the speed of transactions made with biometric payment cards means shorter queues at the checkout and reduced demand on staff to authenticate customer payments. The reduction in card fraud will also provide significant financial benefit to businesses.

The Smart Approach

It’s clear that the future of payment cards should include biometric technology. Biometric authentication, far from bringing disruption or additional expense to retailers, immediately delivers attractive advantages to businesses and consumers alike.

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