ID scans making mark on retailers
Biometric identity authentication systems are rapidly being introduced into retail transactions, changing the way we pay for goods and services.
As concerns about credit card and identity theft have grown, financial institutions and retailers have sought more secure methods to protect themselves and their customers from losses. Radio frequency identification tags embedded within cards allow the user to simply swipe or wave the card before a reader, which then completes the transaction.
Although speeding the purchasing process, RFID cards still can be lost or stolen.
A number of firms have introduced biometric authentication systems to the market. For example, 3.5 million consumers use biometric systems from the company Pay By Touch at more than 3,000 retail outlets, including gasoline stations and supermarket chains Jewel-Osco and Albertson’s.
These systems primarily rely on fingerprint identification wherein the consumer allows a scanned image to be taken of his index finger, which is then converted into a mathematical formula. Whenever the person’s fingerprint is subsequently scanned at a store, a match can be made between the latest scan and the mathematically coded “image” on file. The consumer then can specify the financial account to which the purchase should be charged.
These systems allow the consumer to create and access a virtual wallet containing electronic versions of credit cards, a driver’s license, checks and other documents that cannot be stolen. Moreover, a person’s age can be verified to ensure that only those customers meeting age requirements have legal access to alcohol and adult films.
It has been estimated that 64 seconds are needed to complete the average retail transaction using a bank check and 48 seconds using a credit card. A fingerprint scanning system allows the same transaction to be completed in only 14 seconds. Although these differences in processing time might seem insignificant, many retailers recognize the value in providing customers with the fastest and accurate service imaginable.
There also is the potential cumulative value of these savings in time if many people standing in line at a supermarket or gasoline station were to use a biometric system rather than a plastic card or check.
Fingerprint scans are only one type of biometric system in commercial use. Some retailers and ATM systems have introduced devices that scan the consumer’s iris to make a positive identification by matching it with a previously stored image.
Other systems use voice recognition software to authenticate identity.