Wednesday, February 13, 2008

What Is All The Rave For Biometric Payment Technology?

by Matt Murren

There is a lot of popularity for biometric payment technology which is basically known to be a point of sale technology which makes use of a security system of biometric authentication so that a buyer is identified and then authorized in the context of a transaction. The authorization would enable appropriate deduction of funds that may be linked with any kind of bank account.
When we talk about fingerprint payment, be aware that this would be based on finger scanning to be the most common method of it. When a shopper becomes a registered member in a biometric program at a well reputed store, this would mean that it is a way of providing identification that is valid as well as credible bank account information.

When we talk about fingerprint biometric device, suppose you are the shopper whose index finger is scanned by the store’s finger scan reader. This reader would encrypt all those specific measurements of your fingerprint so that it is stored as your biometric data along with whatever banking information is provided. This is all stored in a centralized type of database.
When this biometric payment technology is triggered, you would have to use the same fingerprint scan to register your checkout with the store's fingerprint reader. Your personal identification number maybe required for this so that the reader can do a quick, comparative study of the data from its available pool of encrypted data that is stored in the centralized database.
In the U.S., there is a lot of importance with which it has gained popularity, whether it is in gas stations or in grocery stores, or even the usual convenience stores.
Just last year, the leading provider in the field of biometric payment technology known as Pay By Touch declared that over two million customers had gone ahead to enroll themselves in their provided services and this was further supported by a whopping figure of $8 billion in the context of transactions.
The advantages of using it include speedy transactions which is very important to today’s rush filled world, enhanced type of security so that you don’t have to worry about hackers, lower cost each time you opt for this kind of a transaction and lastly, there are no hassles. It remains a slightly controversial topic because there are several critics who believe that if fingerprints are shared with other agencies that are authorized like government agencies or even law enforcement officials, this can be duplicated and even misused at the end of the day. However, this is counterattacked by the vows of providers that actual encrypted numbers alone are used for verification and not customer profile identity as such.
While the debate continues, there is no doubt that biometric payment technology is here to stay and grow.

Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.biometric-technology-advisor.com

No comments: