CFOs, Treasurers Across Asia Eager To Add Biometrics To Payments

Corporate treasurers and chief financial officers (CFOs) across Asia are eager to adopt biometric authentication technologies, according to new research from East & Partners Asia, reported Biometric Update late last week.

Nearly one-third of corporates surveyed in the region believe biometric authentication is more secure than other tools and plan to implement the technology in the future. That includes fingerprint, iris, voice or facial recognition.

East & Partners Asia surveyed nearly 1,000 chief financial officers and treasurers about their opinions on biometrics. While only 3.2 percent said they currently use the tool, just two out of five said they are satisfied and comfortable using passwords to secure payments. Nearly 16 percent said they prefer behavioral analytics based on keystroke pattern analysis to secure and authenticate transactions.

“For payment service providers, success will hinge on offering a fast, secure and frictionless payment solution without compromising on customers’ personal data,” said East & Partners Asia Analyst Sangiita Yoong in a statement. “The key perhaps lies in grasping a better understanding of the tradeoff between convenience, security and privacy needs from a user point of view.”

Analysts at East & Partners Asia said they expect use of security tokens and one-time access codes to decline; currently, more than half (52.7 percent) use these security measures across Asia, but the report predicted that figure will drop to 38.9 percent in the near-term. Biometrics and behavioral analytics are likely to take their place, especially as consumers become more comfortable with biometric authentication practices.