Biometric Payments Without Special Hardware
by
Randy Mears
Most biometric systems require specialized equipment, like fingerprint scanners, hand geometry readers or specialized video cameras. These systems are fine for on-site applications like access control, computer security or workplace employee time tracking, but they have had little traction when it comes to securing Internet based transactions.
When it comes to purchasing items over the Internet, all we really need is a connected computer and a valid credit card. Security continues to be a serious problem that is typically augmented by ensuring that the purchased items are only shipped to the credit card's billing address. It's an old security measure that seems to work fairly well. Another way to improve security would be to require biometric information to be included in the transaction; enter "Voice Pay." With Voice Pay, a biometric layer would be added to an Internet purchase and the only additional hardware required, a telephone, would likely be readily available. Voice Pay wouldn’t just be useful for Internet based transactions; it would enable a whole new level of telephone-only transactions (if it catches on).
Although biometric security systems can be beneficial when implemented at the right level, I think Voice Pay may be missing that mark. As far as the security side of things goes, I have to say, I don’t get it. Unless I missed something here, it is not the consumer but the seller that is protected by this system. For the typical consumer, there seems to be significant burden with little benefit because:
- A credit card (even one registered on the Voice Pay system) is still subject to the same potential abuses as before it was registered
- It is the consumer’s responsibility to sign-up
- It is the consumer’s private information that is stored on yet another database
- Transaction complexity increases, at the consumer level, for a typical Internet purchase
The consumer is expected to do all the work but appears to receive little in return. To the developers of this technology, voice authentication may be the "way to go," but in order to protect the consumer, the seller and the credit card provider, it needs to be integrated with a credit card’s complete set of processes.
Although Voice Pay is a good example of the kinds of two-channel authentication systems some banks are moving toward, by implementing is as a removable layer it will serve primarily to secure the seller at the expense of the buyer.
