by T. M. Robertson

Created on: July 10, 2010

Many experts believe the future of preventing identity theft lies with biometrics. Biometric technologies can include, but aren’t limited to: iris scans, as well as those for fingerprints, palm, skin, voice and face patterns. While biometric technology itself is still in its fundamental stages compared to what its potential could hold, some businesses are already beginning to use the technology.  For example, Albertson’s, which is the number two supermarket chain, is one of numerous retailers testing biometric payment systems. These systems allow customers to pay for purchases with a simple swipe of their finger. The way the system works is that customers register their fingerprints and link that information with their bank account to pay for their purchases. The transactions are then processed through service providers, with the main ones being Pay By Touch and BioPay.  

Currently, the Pay By Touch technology is available at between 100 to 200 stores, while rival BioPay’s system currently has claims staked at about 150 locations. The benefits of utilizing this technology are that biometric payments are much safer because the merchant itself doesn’t gather any of the customer’s personal information. In addition, the customers benefit from faster transactions. This BioPay system is also being utilized worldwide by Western Union where they currently use the BioPay system to identity customers who wish to cash checks with them. 

While some of the basics of biometrics are already being used, there is also enormous potential for this technology to advance even further. In the future, biometrics will use personal characteristics such as facial geometry, fingerprints, voice recognition, or retinal scans to uniquely identity each individual. It used to be believed that one day microchips would be inserted into each individual as an identifying chip that would not only identity each person, but also link all of their financial accounts eliminating the need to carry around checks, bank cards, credit cards, etc. Now, it is being proposed that such a chip would not be necessary because biometrics could do the same thing without being so invasive.

In the future, a person would have no need to carry around financial cards, keys, identification cards, etc. A simple biometric scan would allow them to start their car, open locked doors, go shopping, access their bank accounts, serve as identification for travel purposes, etc. In the near future, biometrics could even offer its services to the fight against underage drinking and smoking, by implementing a unique instant age verification system at the place of purchase. The introduction of these advanced functions of biometrics will change the way the entire world operates on a day to day basis. 

While all of these new technologies sound great, they are also very expensive. In order for these new technologies to be utilized, businesses will need to put forth the money to upgrade their systems to be able to implement their uses. This will prove to be a very expensive feat and while larger businesses will be the first to have access to such technologies, smaller businesses will find it extremely difficult to do so. The good news is, just like with all new technology, the costs will go down over time and will one day be feasible for all businesses around the globe to utilize in their daily practices. Basically, the technology is already there, society is just waiting for it to become a little more economical to implement.

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