PETER. T. BLANCHARD – ‘Real benefits’
In a few years when my ATM takes a thumbprint instead of a card, will a thief simply cut off my thumb to access my account again and again?
Maybe, but it will only happen during the first 10 minutes when the thumb is still warm and if the thief is lucky enough to match the pressure points.
That question is directed so many times at Jim Trubley at Pittsford, N.Y.-based Vanteon that his answer comes matter-of-factly, with no hint at what today would seem like a bizarre action for a thief to take.
But despite consumers’ wariness of the technology, the everyday use of biometrics in the world of financial services is indeed coming, and they will accept it when they find their lives improved, say analysts.
A November study of biometrics by Needham-based TowerGroup found that although the technology exists, consumers and bankers need to overcome anxieties and concentrate on practical applications and answers.
Biometrics to control access to physical locations is already in place in certain institutions to protect sensitive areas. In customer-facing applications, although voice biometrics has been used in call centers, it is unlikely that biometrics will be rolled out at physical locations, e.g., branches, ATMs and point of sale, for at least another decade, said Jean-Paul Carbonnier, author of the TowerGroup study.
According to Peter T. Blanchard, vice president of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, banks in the Bay State haven’t been quick to adopt the technology but he has heard of banks in other states, like Texas, using some form of biometrics. Also, the New York Bankers Association has endorsed a product offered by Vanteon, according to Trubley.
Last Friday, members of the MBA were to meet to hear about the advantages of biometric technology as presented by Trubley of Vanteon, which represents the makers of a biometric mouse – that is, a mouse with a window where the thumb is positioned. The window reads the three-dimensional image of the thumb, along with pressure points and heat, and converts it to an algorithm. The equation is then compared to a log for a match. This type of identification is usually referred to as fingerprint biometrics, although the image of the fingerprint is not actually stored but converted to an equation the computer can more easily match.
Although the explanation is rather long, the time it takes for all of that to happen is infinitesimal, said Trubley.
In all likelihood, the use of biometrics will be seen within organizations for employees first, then it may eventually trickle down to consumer use, said experts.
[Bankers] are beginning to take a look in more or less the benign type of biometrics, meaning those that would relate to fingerprints, palm prints, those types of things, said Blanchard.
‘More Stigma’
But biometrics involves much more than just fingerprints or palm prints. It can also incorporate voice recognition technology for call centers, iris scans or retinal scans.
No one wants to get near that stuff because, at this time, they feel it’s too invasive and the customers may be frightened away by it, said Blanchard of retinal scans.
According to Carbonnier, voice recognition technology may be the least costly to implement as much of the existing hardware in call centers can be used.
Fingerprint biometrics is non-invasive, but it may still spook consumers, said Carbonnier.
Although retinal scanning has pretty much been abandoned because it requires a laser to pierce through the eye to the retina, iris scanning may be even more desirable than fingerprint technology, said Trubley. Carbonnier said iris scanning is much more attractive because it requires the person to stand a few feet away from the scanner. I would say if anything, there’s probably more stigma attached to using your fingerprints just simply because of the criminal connotations that tend to go with fingerprinting – the fact that that’s how criminals are identified at the moment, he said.
But banks shouldn’t underestimate the consumer’s ability to adapt to new technology, said Carbonnier. If financial services can deliver applications that provide consumers with more convenience and more security, then there’s no reason why most consumers wouldn’t change their perception and adopt these technologies.
Banks must also be careful of the message they send when implementing this sort of technology, said Blanchard. A lot of it has to do with how the customer receives the message the bank is trying to send. The customers [may] get the wrong impression, like, ‘See, they don’t care about me. I’m just another thumbprint,’ said Blanchard.
Blanchard predicts the technology will be implemented slowly – as people realize it’s much quicker than taking out an ATM card, for example, every time you need money.
The technology is ideally suited for any company that wants to do away with passwords, said Blanchard. People put their passwords in the funniest places, like right on their machine, under their mouse. So they’re really not as secure as people think, he said. Additionally, incorporating thumbprint technology into teller stations, or other areas where multiple users log on and off, can really save money. Trubley estimates it costs a typical systems administrator $350 per year, per end-user to maintain passwords that are changed monthly. The thumbprint would eliminate the need for passwords to be changed.
But while implementing the technology within the bank is a matter of investing in some hardware and software at relatively modest expense (around $100 for an optical mouse and software), expanding that to customer use presents some real hurdles.
There’ll be very little benefit for a single financial institution to roll out biometric authentication, said Carbonnier. If only one bank has a customer’s fingerprint algorithm on file, he or she would be limited to using ATMs from that bank.
Secondly, said Blanchard, simple problems also need to be addressed. What if, for instance, the customer’s thumb had a Band-Aid on it and he wanted to use a different finger? Multiple files would need to be kept for each customer.
In terms of achieving the real benefits of biometric authentication, you need a system that’s ubiquitous, said Carbonnier.
But the benefits to the financial services industry are huge, in that biometric identification may help virtually eliminate identity fraud, said Carbonnier. By layering passwords with biometrics access, the security of the institution would be that much tighter, he said.
