Study finds consumers reluctant to embrace biometrics

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Only about one-third of consumers (37%) agree that biometrics are “more secure” than traditional secure payment options, and one-third (31%) worry that a fingerprint “could be cloned” for use on fraudulent purchases.

Rather than embrace biometrics, researchers with Paysafe’s Lost in Transaction report found consumers’ preferences run to passwords (81% prefer), and those sites that don’t ask for a password are a worry, too. About two-thirds (66%) of consumers say they worry about making payments digitally without being asked for a password.

“Biometrics are a huge opportunity for the payments industry to combat the increasing risk of card not present fraud,” said Daniel Kornitzer, Chief Business Development Officer, Paysafe Group. “However, it’s not surprising that there is reluctance among consumers to use biometrics as a form of payment authentication when passwords and PINs have been the central pillar of financial data security for at least 20 years. News headlines are also dominated with fraud and hacking scandals so the public are aware of the risks involved when it comes to adopting new services. To overcome this, consumer education is imperative and with SCA coming in September, consumers will need to be aware of the benefits to ensure acceptance and adoption. We’ve lived in a password-driven world for many years now and consumers aren’t fully prepared to let go of what they know.”

Other interesting findings from the Paysafe report include:

â–ª 45% of consumers don’t want businesses to have access to their biometric details
â–ª 35% say they “don’t know enough” about biometrics to feel safe using it
â–ª 54% of British consumers have used biometrics to make a purchase
â–ª 61% say biometrics are “fast and efficient” payment options

What kinds of biometrics have consumer used thus far? About one-third (38%) have used a fingerprint, 17% facial recognition, and 11% voice-activated tech.

More Paysafe data can be accessed here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.