You watch any movie that looks even a few days into the future and inevitably, someone will use an eyeball or a fingerprint to access something. Be it to open a locked door, to verify an identity, or to turn on a computer.
But what about using biometrics to make payments? That does not need to be left for futuristic movies anymore.
The School of Mines & Technology in South Dakota is letting its students use their fingerprints (along with inputting their birthdates) to make payments on items purchased on campus. Once students have set up an account, by confirming their identities and by registering their banking information and fingerprints, those students can get rid of credit cards, debit cards, and cash, and use their fingers to make purchases.
To avoid people trying to cheat the system, the technology can actually detect hemoglobin in the bloodstream and actually detects a person’s pulse, to make sure that people do not use some form of counterfeit fingerprint to make a purchase.
Following up on a post from earlier this week, carmakers and lenders can tap into this biometric payment trend by installing fingerprint scanners in new vehicles and allowing consumers to make payments on their cars from inside their cars. Or, scanners could be set up at other retail locations, allowing consumers to make auto loan payments at the grocery store, convenience store, or coffee shop.
The easier that financial institutions can make it for consumers to make their auto loan payments, the more likely that those consumers will, in fact, make those payments.
Lenders could also use the biometric scanners as a means of promoting their fight against fraud and identity theft. About half of all identity theft occurs as a result of someone physically stealing another person’s credit card or credit card number, according to statistics cited by the school in announcing the program.
Biometrics is a sensible and meaningful way that lenders can utilize new technology to make payments more convenient and secure.
