Financial ID Briefing: Technophobia, Selfie Finance, Copenhagen

The Financial ID Briefing brings you top highlights from the world of biometrics, mobile ID, and finance. It is powered by FindBiometrics and Money20/20.

The Obstacle of Technophobia

A new research report from HSBC, Trust in Technology, asserts that the biggest obstacle facing the mainstream adoption of biometrics in FinTech is consumer technophobia based on a lack of understanding. The research shows a general distrust of new technology on behalf of the consumer, specifically when financial transactions are concerned. Notably, 14 percent of the 12,000 + survey respondents polled for the study indicated they would trust a robot to perform invasive surgery, but only seven percent said they would trust an AI to open a bank account in their name.

When it comes to biometrics, like HSBC’s voiceprint authentication used for phone banking, the study reflected those concerns, with only six percent of respondents enrolled at all, and 24 percent not even having heard of voice authentication technology. However, HSBC believes that the remedy to these low numbers is simple: education. Trust in Technology found that trust in biometrics rose from 45 percent to 51 percent, after a simple explanation of voice recognition was provided to the respondents.

Selfies For ATM Access

Biometrics are continuing to make their way into new ATM technology. A new automatic teller from Diebold Nixdorf and Samsung SDS America promises a very modern customer access feature which combines facial recognition, mobility, and NFC technology.

From an end user experience standpoint, the process of making a withdrawal transaction is simple and personal. At the ATM, a user taps their phone to an NFC reader on the device, takes a selfie for ID verification, and takes the dispensed cash. The solution is Android and iOS ready, and the companies are preparing to pilot the selfie ATM this summer in partnership with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico.

Preparing for Money2020 Europe

Speaking of selfie finance, FacePhi, the company behind the Selphi facial biometrics solution that’s gaining popularity in financial applications, announced a partnership with BioConnect last week. BioConnect will offer Selphi to customers through its eponymous identity management platform, enabling face biometrics on desktop and mobile devices.

While the breadth of use case for the companies’ joint offering is wide—spanning beyond financial and into enterprise, access control, and time/attendance arenas—the crucial FinTech market is a key target for FacePhi and BioConnect, which plan to showcase their tech at next week’s Money20/20 Europe conference in Copenhagen.

FindBiometrics will be at Money20/20 Europe too, once again bringing biometrics to the show with an expert panel titled The power of choice: Why multimodal biometrics are taking over FinTech. Rob Douglas, CEO of BioConnect, and Javier Mira, CEO of FacePhi are both participating in the critical conversation, hosted by FindBiometrics President Peter O’Neill.