A Question
And Answer Session With James Uberti Of TouchCredit
January
22, 2003
BiometriTech Publisher Rich Tehrani
questions TouchCredit Founder, Chairman, and Chief Architect James
Uberti about future trends in the biometrics industry.
Q: It has been said that besides the government, the financial
and healthcare markets are two of the strongest areas for biometrics
growth in the future. Do you feel this is an accurate assessment and
if so, why?
A: Absolutely.
The financial and healthcare industries, especially in the realms of
Internet access, e-payment and access to confidential patient
records, are faced with the challenge of providing true user
authentication. Providing the ability to biometrically secure and
simplify these processes with a strong user application has enormous
potential for these industries. Two of the major benefits gained
from the deployment of biometric technology for these verticals
include enhanced security and accessibility to personal information
on or offline.
Security and trust are the cornerstones of
a financial institution's existence. The inadequacies of current
systems, primarily password protection, have forced the industry to
investigate new technologies to enhance current security methods and
replace those most susceptible to fraud. In addition to security
benefits, biometric tools are becoming increasingly attractive to
financial institutions given their improved accuracy, greater
availability, changing consumer attitudes and reduced price.
For an industry required to secure personal
information such as health records, biometrics aid in complying with
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
which requires new levels of security, portability and access
control. Strong user authentication means that only the individual
with the matching biometric will be permitted access to computers
and networks, thereby ensuring the integrity of an individual's
health information. Biometrics will also allow physicians to
retrieve patient records online by simply capturing a biometric scan
of the patient.
Q: Tell me about consumer acceptance of this technology. Are
we moving in the right direction?
A: Definitely. Consumer
adoption is gaining early momentum. A recent US government funded
survey conducted by Search.org
determined that 85 percent of consumers would accept the
implementation of biometrics to improve the security of credit card
transactions. As many as 78 percent indicated they would agree to
the use of biometrics in making ATM withdrawals. The Search.org
survey also reported that five percent of respondents had already
given a measurement for biometric comparison.
Despite consumers' approval of the use of biometrics, one of the
greatest challenges to gaining broad acceptance and adoption is
associated with the dissemination of hardware devices to end users.
Although analysts agree that biometrics is the next logical step in
providing secure solutions, they suggest it will take time to
integrate and deploy biometric technologies on a large scale,
projecting a three-to-seven-year timeframe for mass adoption. One
approach to decreasing this timeframe is to utilize software that
works with existing hardware devices to capture live biometric data.
Examples include: Standard keyboards, which can be used to capture
one's unique typing rhythm; or a microphone, which can capture the
live voice pattern of the individual.
Q: Does TouchCredit anticipate resistance from consumers?
A: As we expect, some
resistance will arise due to concerns related to privacy. However,
if trusted institutions take the lead in offering biometric
applications, the security and convenience associated with
biometrics will help ease fears and aid in overall consumer
acceptance. According to an April 2002 report conducted by the Gartner Group, the majority of
consumers do not trust technology companies such as AOL or Microsoft
to deliver online identity and authentication services, although
many would consider similar services offered by financial
institutions. This report indicated that 47 percent of consumers
said they would put their trust in banks, followed by 12 percent for
Microsoft.
Since TouchCredit's identity-processing platform easily
integrates into existing legacy systems and in no way compromises
privacy, we believe that our suite of e-payment solutions, BioCredit
and BioDebit, will be embraced by our financial institutions'
clients, as well as consumers. As indicated in our pilot studies and
user tests, we are receiving an overwhelming response and demand for
our products and services. Software tools, which assist customers in
filling out repetitive forms and remembering passwords, while
allowing online access to personal and private information with a
touch of a finger or sound of one's voice, are quite intriguing. The
ability to offer peace of mind, while simplifying the online
experience, is the main driving factor that will propel adoption of
this technology.
Q: Credit card theft and identity theft are on the rise. Do
you feel that biometrics-based technology will reverse this trend?
A: Not immediately, as it
will take several years to fully reverse this trend given the time
it takes to convert and upgrade existing systems. However, in the
short term, participating banks and merchants will mostly benefit
from biometrics functioning as a strong deterrent for fraudsters at
the implementing enterprise.
Q: In the real world, can you explain to me how TouchCredit
can help eliminate the above problem?
A: Currently, Internet
businesses and consumers on one end of a transaction cannot be
certain who is on the other end of that transaction, and vice versa.
TouchCredit's platform plugs this hole in the information security
pipeline by integrating a robust biometric verification and identity
processing system at the financial institution or merchant levels.
The technology first authenticates an online applicant in real time
by utilizing a unique identity quiz called IDAssure, which
eliminates the possibility of a biometric device being registered
with a false identity. Once the applicant is authenticated,
TouchCredit then captures live biometric data with its
identity-processing platform by utilizing existing hardware devices
(i.e. keyboard or microphone). This process greatly increases the
security and integrity of an unknown online identity and the
assurance that the account holder is indeed present and authorized
at time of purchase or access.
Q: Does the integration of a biometric solution become too
expensive and prohibitive for financial institutions to "cost
justify?"
A: Implementation costs have
lowered, biometric devices have become more affordable, and accuracy
has improved. At the same time, online fraud and piracy are
increasing at an alarming rate. The burgeoning volume of Internet
transactions has prompted some to look for better means to determine
who is at the other end of the wire. The best solution would be
seamless to both merchants and institutions and would not require
dramatic changes in the way payments are processed. Making major
changes in the way payments are processed would be extremely costly
and would slow adoption of any technology for financial institutions
as a result of the established legacy systems already in place.
Consumers will have to be given incentives to download biometric
software. These incentives include offering software for balance
transfers, online purchase guarantees, or marketing the identity
theft protection that a biometric account will offer. Ultimately,
the success of biometrics will not only be based on fraud
prevention, but also on the increased simplicity and convenience
that a biometric solution brings to the payment process.
James Uberti is founder, chairman and chief architect
of TouchCredit Financial Services, Inc.
TouchCredit is a provider of online biometric payment solutions, and
offers real-time applicant authentication and identity processing
services. |