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Two factor biometric authentication is essential to survive fraud tsunami

Visa have just released the results of their comprehensive Biometric Payments Study 2016 carried out in partnership with Populus, in which it asked 14,000 people from seven European countries about their views on biometrics and how they would prefer to use it in different payment environments. 

This important research showed that consumers across Europe:

  • are interested in using biometrics when making a payment – especially when integrated with other security measures
  • 73% see two- factor authentication, where a biometric is used in conjunction with a payment device, as a secure way to confirm an account holder (Two-factor authentication includes something you have, such as a card or a mobile device; something you are, such as a biometric; or something you know such as a PIN or password.)
  • over two-thirds (68%) want to use biometrics as a method of payment authentication 
  • a third (33%) like the fact that biometric authentication means that their details would be safe even if their device was lost or stolen
  • fingerprint scanning is the preferred method of biometric authentication:
    • Source & Copyright©2016 - Visa Europe

  • nearly a third (31%) have abandoned a browser based purchase because of the payment security process.

As we showed in our post yesterday on fraud prevention, the key is to control fraud without losing customers by choosing the fraud control systems and services that match your appetite for fraud.

Corporate treasury department needs to adopt two factor authentication

Corporate treasury department staff are also consumers, they will have, for the most part, the same responses as consumers to fraud prevention systems as well as being much more savvy about controls and procedures. The implications for corporate treasurers are that:

  • they will have little, if any, resistance to the introduction of biometric based fraud prevention systems and procedures
  • improved biometric reader technologies, e.g. Barclays Biometric Readers (which scans blood flow in the finger) will be welcomed
  • two factor authentication (biometrics + ID & password) will be the preferred method (this approach is used by Bloomberg world-wide for all staff)
  • staff could be suspicious of systems that use biometric authentication only.

CTMfile take: Two factor biometric authentication is essential for all access and control of corporate treasury systems and services.

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