Biometrics, the future of payment solutions?

In recent years, a variety of new payment solutions have emerged allowing companies to widen their range of possibilities when it comes to making certain transactions. Some of which, such as biometrics, have become the talk of the town, and are among the favourites to displace more traditional payment methods such as cash or bank cards.

Due to the current sanitation crisis, at Easy Payment Gateway we have seen how biometrics solutions are expanding worldwide due to their convenience and security. Proof of this can be seen in the recent announcement from CaixaBank, approving the deployment of over 100 ATMs with built-in facial recognition technology.

Biometric solutions allow for the identification of a person using their unique features, such as the face, the iris or the voice. Conveniently, this also means that they do not have to carry cash or bank cards. All of this, which is depicted in series like Star Trek and films like Blade Runner as something of the very distant future, has now become a reality. But to what level has the technology been developed? Are we really prepared to integrate biometrics into our daily payments? Is it really safe?

An increasingly rapid growth

Biometrics were already expected to become more and more present in the field of payment methods in the coming years. Now, in a new social context in which physical contact is avoided as much as possible, it is expected to grow even faster. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

As many have experienced when using their smartphones, wearing a mask can cause problems with the facial recognition software. Despite this eye recognition, which is used by all smartphones, remains very effective. On the other hand, voice recognition still seems somewhat utopian, as it still does not work very well, but it is only a matter of time until it improves.

Securing sales

As well as the convenience and security that these methods offer to both people and businesses, biometric solutions will also be considered as a tool to secure sales, as they prevent many kinds of fraud related to other payment methods. 50% of users would abandon their shopping cart if the business did not provide their preferred payment method.

Given this reality, companies will have to include biometrics in their range of payment methods, as they are set to become one of the most popular options in a few years’ time. At Easy Payment Gateway, our platform provides 240 enabled payment methods, out of which 190 are considered alternative, including biometrics.

Although there are still details to be polished, biometrics are advancing by leaps and bounds. It won’t be long before we start finding it in all kinds of shops, as we have already seen with smartphone payment.