Could selfies — which the Urban Dictionary refers to as "the beginning of the end of intelligent civilisation" — revolutionise mobile payments?
Selfies are sooner associated with pouting teenagers than security systems, but don’t dismiss them too quickly.
Pointing your camera at your own face may be a security measure that will give you access to your own bank account or be part of a system that unlocks the door to your house.
Biometrics, a technology system that can identify a person using traits such as fingerprints, voice, iris and facial characteristics, is already used to control access to buildings. It is slowly replacing passwords, which — on their own — are becoming less secure.
Passwords make up the principal security method used by the banking sector and any other service aimed at securing your personal information. And though passwords will remain the principal method of authentication because of their simplicity, new technology is being developed to complement and, in some sections, replace them.
The department of home affairs has begun to roll out fingerprint identification at ports of entry. After introducing the system to international airports in 2015, the department has developed a plan to extend that to land ports of entry including Beit Bridge, the border post between SA and Zimbabwe.
Peter Reynolds, chief commercial officer at London-based biometrics firm AimBrain, says facial, voice and finger biometry are not new. But there has been a shift in technology systems to machine learning and artificial intelligence, which will take biometrics up a notch by enabling "behavioural biometry". This includes identifying people by the way they type on keyboards or even the way they use and hold smartphones.
But first, selfies: Last year MasterCard launched "selfie pay" in some European countries. It allows the use of fingerprint biometrics or the choice of facial recognition when buying goods. Plans are under way to extend this globally.
The platform is about much more than just selfies. "Selfie pay" is an app-based authentication system that uses smartphones to secure payments and banking apps, using fingerprint or facial recognition software.
In a blogpost Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard’s president for global enterprise risk & security, says biometrics are "driving the trend towards a password-free future where digital identity is all about who we are, not what we remember."
With smartphones in their hands, people now have access to the tools that make instant biometrics possible, says Mastercard.
The technological developments are largely as a result of the explosion in cyber crime, to which SA is not immune. Fraudsters have found fairly easy methods to steal personal information in order to gain access to people’s money.
A study by global research firm Gartner says that by 2019, 80% of organisations will use face, voice and behaviour authentication.
Banks see biometric technology as a strategy with dual benefits: it could reduce and prevent credit and debit card fraud, but also be a way to provide greater convenience to customers.
Moreover, password security has become a problem. People tend to recycle passwords, use common words or phrases and also forget them easily. Having multiple accounts — for e-mail addresses, social media, online retailers, and so on — makes it more difficult to keep track.
Though there are serious privacy concerns associated with biometric data, facial and fingerprint analysis has been easier and safer for companies to manage.
How does it work? Gemalto’s biometrics expert, Xavier Larduinat, says fingerprints are measured as a map of lines and the gaps between them. Biometric technology transforms fingerprints into digital maps.
In the case of facial recognition, the technology measures the distances between the eyes and also the nose. It can also consider the size of the face.
These measurements don’t change, even when people age, says Larduinat.
Gemalto says the introduction of fingerprint sensors on phones in 2014 was a big step forward for commercial biometric authentication. In 2017, more than 500m smartphones will be shipped with biometric sensors — including fingerprint, facial recognition and iris scanners.
Biometric fingerprint authentication technology has also found its way into laptops, external hard-drives and electronic wallets.
In the future, experts predict, biometrics will be used at ATMs, to buy tickets for public transport and even to unlock vehiclesand homes.
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