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Banking sector embraces multiple biometric modalities
TECHNOLOGY
www.biometrics-today.com
ISSN 0969-4765 April 2015
banking
Contents
Banking sector embraces multiple biometric modalities
T
he rapid adoption of biometric technology in the banking and finance sector continues apace with a number of developments. In the UK, the Halifax bank has been trialling Bionym’s Nymi band to enable customers to access online bank services using ECG biometrics. In late 2014 Bionym carried out a trial of Nymi Band ECG-authenticated payments with customers of Royal Bank of Canada and other issuing banks. The trial focussed on contactless card transactions at the point-of-sale in Canada. During Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, Jeremy Borntein, head of payments innovation at Royal Bank of Canada, was reported to have proclaimed that biometric wearables are the future of mobile commerce. Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma used the platform of the Cebit event to unveil the company’s Smile to Pay system, which will allow users to confirm their identity by facial recognition technology. Ma is reported to have taken a selfie with his phone to pay for a vintage stamp offered on Alibaba’s e-commerce site. Other banking developments include: Global banking firm FIS has launched biometric cardless ATM access. FIS provides biometric access to its mobile banking application via Apple’s TouchID. ING Netherlands has added a second biometric feature to its mobile banking app
following its introduction of hands-free banking with voice recognition in September 2014. Customers are now able to log in to the ING mobile banking app with their fingerprint. In the next update of the app, expected this summer, the fingerprint will also be used to authorise payments within the app. Oman’s Bank Muscat has launched a biometric identification system with the help of Royal Oman Police. The biometric system is compatible with the Sultanate’s national identification card. BioCatch has launched an account fraud detection solution that detects fraud in new user accounts in the retail banking, e-commerce and payments industries. By mapping inconsistent behaviour patterns in the application flow, the technology can distinguish between human and non-human activities and send an immediate alert when bot activity is detected. It can also differentiate between normal and anomalous behaviours by analysing input familiarity, application fluency, user expertise and robotic-behaviour detection. SmartMetric has unveiled a fingerprint activated biometric payments card with an inbuilt processor and software allowing the credit or debit card to become an intelligent funds processor allowing card to card funds transfer. Both sender and receiver cards are activated and verified by each user’s individual fingerprint, allowing a highly secure means of electronic transfer regionally, nationally or even internationally.
borders
Australian government plans to change the law to enable it to collect more biometric data
T
he Australian government is pushing for changes to the law to enable it to collect more biometric data from Australian citizens and foreigners
TODAY
biometric
at airports. The Australian authorities say they are looking to strengthen its borders in response to ‘recent Continued on page 2...
News Banking sector embraces multiple biometric modalities 1 Australian government plans to change the law to enable it to collect more biometric data 1 US Coast Guard told to fix failings in its biometric system 2 US Customs and Border Protection trials facial recognition to ID pilots 2 Google FaceNet scores almost 100% recognition 2 CCTV feeds facial recognition systems for law enforcement 3 Biometric tech hits snags during Nigerian elections 3 UK government boosts biometrics at border but fails to address communication issues 3, 12 Researcher demonstrates iris recognition spoof 12 Apple patents biometrics for online commerce 12 One in three IT bosses predicts biometric access control in five years 12
Features Biometrics in developing countries Some of the world’s largest and most ambitious biometrics programmes are in developing nations. Steve Mansfield-Devine reports. 5 Ebola: fighting a deadly epidemic with fingerprint biometrics Megan Gallagher, Securiport, outlines how biometric tech is supporting measures to contain Ebola.
9
Regulars Events Calendar
3
News in Brief
4
Product News
4
Company News
4
Comment
12
Visit us online @ www.biometrics-today.com
ISSN 0969-4765/15 © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.
www.biometrics-today.com
ISSN 0969-4765 April 2015
banking
Contents
Banking sector embraces multiple biometric modalities
T
he rapid adoption of biometric technology in the banking and finance sector continues apace with a number of developments. In the UK, the Halifax bank has been trialling Bionym’s Nymi band to enable customers to access online bank services using ECG biometrics. In late 2014 Bionym carried out a trial of Nymi Band ECG-authenticated payments with customers of Royal Bank of Canada and other issuing banks. The trial focussed on contactless card transactions at the point-of-sale in Canada. During Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, Jeremy Borntein, head of payments innovation at Royal Bank of Canada, was reported to have proclaimed that biometric wearables are the future of mobile commerce. Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma used the platform of the Cebit event to unveil the company’s Smile to Pay system, which will allow users to confirm their identity by facial recognition technology. Ma is reported to have taken a selfie with his phone to pay for a vintage stamp offered on Alibaba’s e-commerce site. Other banking developments include: Global banking firm FIS has launched biometric cardless ATM access. FIS provides biometric access to its mobile banking application via Apple’s TouchID. ING Netherlands has added a second biometric feature to its mobile banking app
following its introduction of hands-free banking with voice recognition in September 2014. Customers are now able to log in to the ING mobile banking app with their fingerprint. In the next update of the app, expected this summer, the fingerprint will also be used to authorise payments within the app. Oman’s Bank Muscat has launched a biometric identification system with the help of Royal Oman Police. The biometric system is compatible with the Sultanate’s national identification card. BioCatch has launched an account fraud detection solution that detects fraud in new user accounts in the retail banking, e-commerce and payments industries. By mapping inconsistent behaviour patterns in the application flow, the technology can distinguish between human and non-human activities and send an immediate alert when bot activity is detected. It can also differentiate between normal and anomalous behaviours by analysing input familiarity, application fluency, user expertise and robotic-behaviour detection. SmartMetric has unveiled a fingerprint activated biometric payments card with an inbuilt processor and software allowing the credit or debit card to become an intelligent funds processor allowing card to card funds transfer. Both sender and receiver cards are activated and verified by each user’s individual fingerprint, allowing a highly secure means of electronic transfer regionally, nationally or even internationally.
borders
Australian government plans to change the law to enable it to collect more biometric data
T
he Australian government is pushing for changes to the law to enable it to collect more biometric data from Australian citizens and foreigners
TODAY
biometric
at airports. The Australian authorities say they are looking to strengthen its borders in response to ‘recent Continued on page 2...
News Banking sector embraces multiple biometric modalities 1 Australian government plans to change the law to enable it to collect more biometric data 1 US Coast Guard told to fix failings in its biometric system 2 US Customs and Border Protection trials facial recognition to ID pilots 2 Google FaceNet scores almost 100% recognition 2 CCTV feeds facial recognition systems for law enforcement 3 Biometric tech hits snags during Nigerian elections 3 UK government boosts biometrics at border but fails to address communication issues 3, 12 Researcher demonstrates iris recognition spoof 12 Apple patents biometrics for online commerce 12 One in three IT bosses predicts biometric access control in five years 12
Features Biometrics in developing countries Some of the world’s largest and most ambitious biometrics programmes are in developing nations. Steve Mansfield-Devine reports. 5 Ebola: fighting a deadly epidemic with fingerprint biometrics Megan Gallagher, Securiport, outlines how biometric tech is supporting measures to contain Ebola.
9
Regulars Events Calendar
3
News in Brief
4
Product News
4
Company News
4
Comment
12
Visit us online @ www.biometrics-today.com
ISSN 0969-4765/15 © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.