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81% CONSUMERS GLOBALLY WOULD USE A BIOMETRIC PAYMENT CARD

More than four fifths of consumers (81%) worldwide are ready to use a biometric payment card and authenticate payments with their fingerprint rather than a PIN code, according to a survey commissioned by a biometric technology provider.

The survey — which was conducted across 14 countries — and also shows that 94% of consumers surveyed in Saudi Arabia, 92% in India, 88% in Brazil and 86% in South Africa feel ready to use fingerprint authentication for in-store payments compared with 73% in Australia, 70% in the UK and 69% in the US.

Almost three quarters of respondents (74%) also said that they have a positive attitude towards biometric technology with people from emerging economies (90%) and consumers aged under 49 (79%) being “the most enthusiastic about biometrics”.

It also found that 84% of those surveyed have used biometric authentication methods for tasks such as unlocking their smartphone, with 70% having used their fingerprint, 43% their face, 25% their voice and 17% their iris to verify their identity.

“As biometric usage spreads across the planet and consumers continue to warm to the idea of streamlined, hassle free — yet totally secure — authentication, use cases will proliferate,” says the report’s commissioner, Idemia.

“For example, 51% of global consumers would like to use a biometric card to gain access to a secured building and 34% want to see this technology integrated into their transportation pass.”

– NFCW –

Survey: more than six in ten US consumers say they would pay for a biometric card

Some 65.5% of US consumers would pay for a biometric credit card that has a built-in fingerprint reader for authenticating payments, according to a survey of American credit card users.

It also found that 60.2% of respondents would prefer to pay a one-time fee of US$69.95 that covers the whole three-year lifetime of a biometric card, while 39.7% would prefer a monthly payment of US$8.95 that includes identity theft insurance.

“Interesting for card issuing banks is that the consumer research is showing that bank customers are willing to pay for a biometric credit card,” says SmartMetric, the biometric technology provider that commissioned the survey.

“This is based on the consumer’s desire to have a safer technology that aids in protecting against card fraud. For bank card customers, the concern of card fraud goes well beyond the financial loss they may or may not experience.

“Card customers find the whole experience of having their financial safety violated unpleasant. It is a logical as well as an emotional reaction by consumers.

“The sense of violation along with the general concern for their financial safety is the main driving force as to why the research is showing so many existing card customers are willing to pay for a biometric card,” the firm adds.

“For card issuing banks, they also are advantaged by the increased security offered by biometric credit and debit cards, while at the same time being able to turn their cards into a revenue-generating new source of income, making the credit card a new consumer device in its own right.”

Source: NFCW

Forecast: 1.4bn consumers will be using face recognition to authenticate payments by 2025

The number of consumers using software-based facial recognition to authenticate payments worldwide will reach 1.4 billion by 2025, up from 671 million in 2020, according to a forecast by Juniper Research.

The analysts say that the predicted growth “demonstrates how widespread facial recognition has become; fuelled by its low barriers to entry, a front-facing camera and appropriate software”.

They add that “despite the challenges to facial recognition during the pandemic with face mask use”, the implementation of Face ID by Apple has accelerated the wider facial recognition market.

The ‘Mobile Payment Authentication: Biometrics, Regulation and Market Forecasts 2021-2025’ research also predicts that while 93% of biometrically-enabled smartphones will be equipped with fingerprint sensors, only 17% will have hardware-based facial recognition capabilities by 2025.

In addition, it forecasts that the number of people using voice recognition for payments will increase from 111 million in 2020 to more than 704 million in 2025, but adds that voice recognition “is mostly used in banking, and will struggle to grow beyond this, due to concerns around robustness”.

– NFCW –

Samsung, Mastercard partner to launch biometric payment card

The card will use fingerprint recognition to verify the identities of card holders and will be accepted at Mastercard payment terminals.

The sensor will be embedded on the device and will negate the need for a PIN when authorising purchases. Mastercard aims to leverage its cybersecurity expertise and global payments network to boost cardholder security via this biometric solution.

The card will first be launched in South Korea and will be initially offered to corporate clients that have more frequent international transactions. Samsung will begin issuing corporate cards to South Korean customers later in 2021.

– Thepaypers –

NEXT BIOMETRICS AND MK GROUP ANNOUNCE NEW R&D PROGRAM FOR BIOMETRIC SMART CARDS

NEXT Biometrics (Oslo Bors: NEXT), a global leader in fingerprint sensor technology, today announced the company is joining with MK Group to launch an R&D program for biometric smart cards for banking and other applications. The program will integrate NEXT’s large-area fingerprint sensors into MK Group’s next generation smart card products. Vietnam-based MK Group is the leading provider of smart cards and digital security solutions for financial, telecommunication and retail enterprises in Vietnam and one of the largest in South East Asia.

“As the industry moves toward biometric solutions for card-based transactions, companies like MK Group are leading the way toward accelerating this trend,” said Alain Faburel, NEXT chief sales and marketing officer. “We’re very pleased to have our technology considered for MK Group’s future product lineup. This is yet another strong affirmation of the core advantages NEXT is bringing to the smart card segment with our large-area, flexible sensors.”

MK group intends to include biometric solutions in its future products and has selected NEXT’s One Touch Flex CT-150 sensors for use in trials to evaluate contact-based biometric smart card technology. The NEXT One Touch Flex CT-150 is a flexible, large-area sensor designed specifically for biometric smart cards.

“As a leader in smart card technology, incorporating the security and convenience of biometrics in our products is a natural next step forward for MK Group,” said Nguyen Trong Khang, Chairman and CEO, MK Group. “We look forward to working with NEXT Biometrics on this project to share the benefits of advanced fingerprint sensor technology with our customers.”

NEXT technical and sales teams are currently working closely with MK Group on the biometric smart card project, which is expected to begin in the near future. Today’s announcement marks an additional advance in the pace of smart card deployment following recent news from NEXT regarding availability of a biometric smart card reference design that allows for expedited development of smart card products.

About MK Group:
MK Group Joint Stock Company (MK Group) is a Vietnam based company that specializes in wide ranges of digital secure authentication solutions and smart card products. These include: Smart payments; identification and exchange data; digitized identification; transaction and communication; and secure data for identity, transactions and communication. MK Group has 19 years’ experience in serving finance – banking, governments, enterprises, transportation and telecom and ceaselessly invests in order to improve the quality of products and services. The company works closely with customers, partners and other stakeholders to successfully transform their businesses in the fast-changing world of technology.

About NEXT Biometrics:
NEXT provides advanced fingerprint sensor technology that delivers uncompromised security and accuracy for the best possible user experience in the smart card, government ID, access control and notebook markets. The company’s patented NEXT Active Thermal™ principle allows the development of large, high quality fingerprint sensors in both rigid and flexible formats. NEXT Biometrics Group ASA (www.nextbiometrics.com) is headquartered in Oslo, with sales, support and development operations in Seattle, Silicon Valley, Taipei, Prague, Bengaluru and Shanghai.

– Source: www.nextbiometrics.com –

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Tel: (84-24) 3813 4646 | Fax: (84-24) 3813 4648

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