Shoppers reluctant to swap passwords for biometrics, Paysafe
53% of UK shoppers are worried that the shift to biometrics to authenticate online payments will dramatically increase the amount of identity fraud, according to research by Paysafe.
The company surveyed 6,197 consumers from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. 79% still favour passwords. 68% expressed concern about paying for goods or services without being asked for a password, and only 40% believe that biometrics are more secure than other authentication methods.
“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,” says Daniel Kornitzer, Chief Business Development Officer, Paysafe Group.
“To overcome this, consumer education is imperative and with Strong Customer Authentication (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.”
Despite the aforementioned concerns, 54% of British consumers have tapped biometrics to make a payment. Fingerprint technology was the most commonly used method (42%), followed by facial recognition (17%) and voice-activated technologies (12%).
