Digital Identity Tracker: Will Biometrics Ring In A More Secure 2017?

It’s been slow going when it comes to consumer adoption, but it seems digital identity companies are starting to bet big on mobile payment technology becoming more popular with consumers.

Data from Statista indicates that more than $450 billion was spent in the United States last year via mobile payments, and that number could balloon up to more than $1 trillion by 2019. But with an increase in consumer interest also comes an increase in interest from fraudsters and other bad actors.

In order to keep mobile customers, payments and data safe, multiple security companies recently formed partnerships designed to bolster their mobile security.

EyeVerify and Comarch are banking on biometrics when it comes to mobile security, as the two recently announced they would collaborate on payment-grade biometric authentication on mobile devices for both retail and corporate banking. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. also recently announced a partnership with Precise Biometrics, a provider of fingerprint recognition software.

Meanwhile, similarly, FirstBank announced last month that it would turn to Entersekt to help secure its iOS app. The authentication and app security provider will now enable FirstBank customers to sign into their mobile banking account via a biometric indicator, such as a fingerprint scan, rather than a username and password.

Finding new ways to stay safe 

FirstBank is far from the only financial institution turning to biometrics and other new security techniques in the wake of repeated high-profile security breaches this year. For this month’s Digital Identity cover story, PYMNTS caught up with U.S. Bank Chief Information Security Officer Jason Witty to discuss the latest technology that you could soon find (or already have found) protecting your devices.

Witty said that he believes the combination of biometric security and smartphone architecture could hold some powerful potential security tools. He also detailed how banks across the space are coming together to share information, best practices and security techniques — and how it’s working.

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 Download the December 2016 Digital Identity Tracker™.

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About The Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Digital Identity Tracker™, powered by Socure, is a forum for framing and addressing key issues and trends facing the entities charged with efficiently and securely identifying and granting permission to individuals to access, purchase, transact or otherwise confirm their identity.