Biometrics

A few handshakes among a small group of Silicon Valley techies are presenting the best chance yet to wipe out passwords in favor of modern identity protection.

Gemalto is working with Lebanon-based areeba to test a biometric contactless Visa EMV card in the Middle East that uses a fingerprint to authorize transactions.

In seeking to solidify that potential, FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium have created Web Authentication (WebAuthn), a new standard that allows approved FIDO Authentication methods to operate through browsers.

Options include multilayered security solutions that incorporate verification via passive biometrics, without adding friction, by evaluating a consumer’s inherent behavior online during the transaction process, writes NuData Security's Lisa Baergen.

Voice authentication software has improved call center service at Virginia Credit Union and shortened call times by nearly 25 percent.

The problem is that, like usernames and passwords, biometrics are a static form of identity that can be exploited rather than a dynamic method that's of little use to crooks if stolen.

Behavioral biometrics are attractive because they are easy to implement, hard for criminals to spoof and not subject to the same privacy protections applied to thumbprints or retina scans.

The speed at which money transfer payments are evolving from legacy, paper-based systems to digital platforms couldn’t be more stark at Western Union, where Sheri Rhodes has just been named executive vice president and chief technology officer.

BBVA has started testing a facial recognition payment application for employees to use at cafeterias and restaurants at the Ciudad BBVA office and business conference complex in Madrid.

While building consumer trust in these new payments methods will undoubtedly take time, the possibility of freeing consumers from physical payment objects — cash, cards, phones — would be transformative, writes Beatta McInerney, business development manager for payments at ScanSource.