Facial recognition for payments authentication space set for rapid growth

The number of users of software-based facial recognition to secure payments will exceed 1.4 billion globally by 2025, up from 671 million in 2020, according to Juniper Research.

This is being fuelled by its low barriers to entry, a front-facing camera and appropriate software.

The implementation of Face ID by Apple as accelerating the growth of the wider facial recognition market, despite challenges during the pandemic around face mask use.

Juniper Research recommends that vendors in this space implement AI-based verification checks to ensure the validity of user identity, or risk losing user trust as spoofing attempts increase.

Fingerprint sensors, meanwhile, will feature on 93% of biometrically equipped smartphones in 2025.

This compares favourably to hardware-based facial recognition, with just 17% of biometrically equipped smartphones featuring these capabilities in 2025.

Juniper Research also found that the use of voice recognition for payments is increasing, from 111 million users in 2020, to over 704 million in 2025.

At present, however, voice recognition is mostly used in banking, and will struggle to grow beyond this, due to concerns around robustness.

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