Special | Why the face and footprint of a human being are worth more than cash today

Continuing with the special on invisible payments, it is relevant to speak specifically about the biometric payments, or face or fingerprint transactions.

50 years ago a piece of cardboard with printed numbers revolutionized the way people pay. Today, although cash is still used, there is talk of digital transactions to save time and costs.

Thus, the future of digital payments is announced with solutions designed to be “simple, convenient and secure”, he explains Daniel Aguilar, Vice President of Business Development for Veritran Latin America.

“The digitization of payments is called invisible payments, as well as the possibility of carrying out transactions using the face, called biometric payments, which promise to be the next global trend”, said the expert. But, what are you talking about? Next, it will be explained what biometric payments are and why they are the future both in the digital banking as in the use of Applications.

What are biometric payments and how do they work?

Today, users demand increasingly simple and natural purchasing patterns, such as writing voice commands or show the face in front of the screen cell phone.

For it, biometric payments provide greater security and improve the user experience, since they quickly authenticate transactions using unique features analyzed by technology, without compromising the identity of the client.

biometrics allows compare the physical and behavioral characteristics of an individual, and it is applied to digital banking, serving to confirm the authenticity of a transaction through very simple actions, as simple as use your fingerprint or look at the camera.

“Facial biometrics does not save a photo of your face. Save certain points of the face, to later make a face match and compare 3D with 3D. So that the technology can identify that it is really you, it depends on the policies of each country. In Mexico, for example, the regulation makes a text read in order to authenticate that the person who will carry out an action is who they say they are. Likewise, the typical methods are used that put a point to the user, start looking at it and that’s it. There are many variations, depending on each country”, he explained to TechMarkup.

Benefits of using biometric payments

1. Convenience

Biometric payment technology allows consumers to determine their identity quickly, easily and simply. With a biometric card with a fingerprint reader, the individual only has to be physically present to make a purchase, no other information is required.

2. Safer

The use of biometric payment facilities provides greater security to customers and banks, thanks to the uniqueness of the biometric characteristics of each individual.

Before authorizing payment, the card compares the user’s fingerprint presented to the scanner with reference data stored securely on the card.

If the card is lost or stolen, cannot be removed or usedeven for low-value contactless payments.

3. Reduce administrative work

Banks incur significant administrative costs when using traditional identification methods. Whether it’s issuing a PIN, building a card reader at home, or verifying the identity of a new customer, verifying a customer’s identity is expensive.

However, by using biometric banking, financial services organizations they will be able to significantly reduce administrative workload and streamline processes.

4. Quick customer registration

According to a study carried out by FICO, a leader in digital platforms for economic decision-making in Mexico, 40% of customers skip the registration process when applying for a new bank account.

When it comes to acquiring new customers, it is important that the process is quick. And that’s where biometric technology in banking helps.

Through fingerprint or iris scanning, customers can quickly verify if they are who they say they are and immediately start using your services.

In which Latin American countries are biometric payments already used, and with what services

Definitely, Mexico is the most advanced country in using face payments. In the case of the mentioned country, services such as Uber, Beat, Cabify, Rappi and Globo already have the biometric payment method.

People who request one of these services simply have to wait for it to arrive, for example a pizza, and when the delivery person arrives at the user’s home, theyimplemente enters a cell phone app to be able to scan the consumer’s face and verify if he really is who he says he is, and if his affiliated cards are the same.

The same goes for Uber, Cabify or Beat. The passenger complies with his journey and the driver, if the user previously has the card affiliated with the application, it simply scans the face and the payment is made.

Finally, in countries like Peru, Chile, Colombia, Argentina or Brazil, biometric payment technology is not yet available.

The main problem for which it is not implemented regionally lies with the devices, because having them on the street (supermarkets, stores, subways, among others), like implementing them on cell phones, is expensive. And sometimes dangerous due to insecurity in certain places where cell phones are stolen.

On the other hand, with the POS or QR code there is still a lack of development due to their cost or because they were not easy devices to find in the different places of a city or country.

“The drawback is the lack of technology for many countries in the Latin American region,” Aguilar concludes.

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