Hot on the heels of the Port of Los Angeles awarding Unisys a contract for biometric access control, the company has identified other markets to which it would like to bring biometric authentication, including transportation, healthcare, and, of course, payments. Fingerprint biometrics are not currently in wide use for authentication of point-of-sale payments. PayByTouch, bankrupt and dissolved in 2008, was the last venture to attempt a broad roll-out.
Responding to the question, “Which do you believe is the safest method to prove your credit card is being used by you?” the online poll found that 63 percent of more than 300 respondents preferred fingerprints as the best method for identity verification and authentication as compared to photo identification (20 percent), PIN numbers (13 percent) and handwritten signatures (six percent).
“As we move to an increasingly digital era, traditional methods of identity verification will no longer be sufficient,” said Bryan Ichikawa, vice president of identity solutions, Unisys. “As our poll shows, biometric identification is a valid and preferred method of identity authentication which could prove valuable in a variety of fields even beyond banking such as in healthcare and transportation security.”
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