Recently, Visa Europe conducted a poll in the United Kingdom and the results drew a very positive future for biometric adoption. According to the poll, which was conducted on over 2,000 people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24, young people (labeled by the study as Generation Z”) are comfortable replacing passwords with biometrics.
In response to this news, the International Biometrics and Identification Association (IBIA) has expressed its excitement about the poll results.
A PDF copy of the IBIA’s response is available for download from the organization’s official website. Additionally, the full body of the paper has been reproduced below with the permission of the IBIA.
The International Biometrics & Identification Association (IBIA) is pleased to see that biometric technology is in high demand among young people in the United Kingdom according to a recent study conducted by Visa Europe.
The survey reports a growing popularity of biometrics in the United Kingdom among young people between the ages 16 to 24. According to the poll of over 2,000 persons in the UK, just over three quarters of subjects report being comfortable replacing their passwords with biometric security. Moreover, the same demographic is eager to adopt biometric payment methods, with 76% stating that they would be comfortable with biometric commerce and 69% going as far to say that such a technology would improve their lives.
The survey results reflect a position that the IBIA has held for some time: that biometric technology is the logical next step in everyday online security and account management. “Passwords have become unmanageable, and Visa Europe’s study indicates that the upcoming generation of consumer users would rather leave them behind,” says Tovah LaDier, Managing Director of the IBIA.
Jonathan Vaux, Executive Director at Visa Europe was quoted in an article for the Telegraph saying, “We have more logins and passwords than ever to help keep us secure online and on the high street, but for [young people] it just feels like an unnecessary burden.”
The younger generation’s demand for post-password solutions comes at a convenient time in the technology’s history. Over the past year biometrics have entered the mainstream thanks to innovations supported by the IBIA and its membership. As seen earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, the number of options available to young people who are eager to adopt biometrics is growing.
What is even more encouraging about the survey results is that young people in the UK are interested in modalities beyond the fingerprint biometrics found in their smartphones. Though fingerprints are of primary interest to the demographic, Visa Europe’s study says that facial recognition and eye-based authentication are also of notable interest to young people.
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February 17, 2015 – by Peter B. Counter
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