8 Ways Touch ID Is Taking Over Mobile Payments

Published January 9, 2015 12:22 PM

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Updated October 20, 2016 10:02 AM

1 Min Read

Emrah Turudu

One of the clearest things that sets Apple Pay apart from other mobile wallets is its incorporation of Touch ID fingerprint recognition. Now that Apple has opened up Touch ID to outside developers, the fingerprint tech is spreading throughout and in some cases beyond Apple's ecosystem. (Image: iStock)

The Ebay Inc. Venmo application (app) is arranged for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5s in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. After downloading the Venmo mobile-payment app onto a smartphone, users can connect them to bank and credit-card accounts, and then link up with friends to send and receive money on-the-go. Venmo, based in New York, alone handled $314 million in mobile payments in the first quarter of this year, up 62 percent from the prior quarter. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Pervading P2P

Though Apple Pay is strictly for use in commerce, the person-to-person payment apps Square Cash, Venmo (a PayPal offering) and Google Wallet (the iOS version) also use Touch ID for authentication. (Image: Bloomberg News)

The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Alipay.com Co. website, displayed on a Samsung Electronics Co. tablet, is seen in an arranged photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. Alibaba, Chinas largest e-commerce company, will go public in 2014 after talks with Hong Kongs exchange on a proposed corporate governance structure fell apart, said people with knowledge of the matter. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Added to Alipay

The Chinese online payments giant, an affiliate of Alibaba, also uses Touch ID. Its app supports fingerprint authentication for online, in-app and in-store purchases. (Image: Bloomberg News)

Attendees inspect Galaxy S5 smartphones on display during a Samsung Electronics Co. news conference on the opening day of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. Top telecommunication managers will rub shoulders in Barcelona this week at the Mobile World Congress, Monday, Feb. 24 - 27, a traditional venue for showcasing the latest products for dealmaking. Photographer: Angel Navarette/Bloomberg

Angel Navarette/Bloomberg

Also on Android?

Apple isn't the only company with a fingerprint-reading phone. Samsung's Galaxy S5 handset has as similar fingerprint reader, and at the phone's launch PayPal was quick to support fingerprint authentication in its Android app. (Image: Bloomberg News)

The Apple Watch is displayed after a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. Apple Inc. unveiled redesigned iPhones with bigger screens, overhauling its top-selling product in an event that gives the clearest sign yet of the company's product direction under Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

A Timely Idea

Touch ID set an expectation that, at least with Apple Pay, there should be some form of biometric authentication for mobile payments. With the upcoming Apple Watch, which doesn't have its own Touch ID sensor, Apple developed an alternative: it disables payments and other functions when the watch's sensors detect it has been removed. (Image: Bloomberg News)

Cloud computing concept

AzmanJaka/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Cloudy Forecast

Apple Pay and Touch ID could be influential in determining whether banking and payment applications store biometric data in the cloud or locally on a user's device. There are pros and cons to each method, but Apple's choice to store fingerprint data locally makes this the default approach for iPhone-based payments and authentication. (Image: Thinkstock)

Favorable to FIDO

The Faster IDentity Online Alliance (FIDO) has the goal of replacing passwords with more secure technology, including biometric authentication. Nok Nok Labs, a founding FIDO member, established Touch ID as a FIDO Ready product along with the fingerprint reader used in Samsung's devices. Apple is not a FIDO member, but many major tech and payment companies are. (Image: Shutterstock)

Tuned In

Before Touch ID became an integral part of Apple Pay, it had a yearlong run as an authentication measure for iTunes purchases. If consumers balked at this authentication requirement, there would probably be a lot less interest in using it at the point of sale. (Image: iStock)

Banking and Budgeting

Account-access apps from BBVA's Simple, American Express, Discover and Intuit's Mint all use Touch ID for authentication on compatible Apple devices. (Image: iStock)