Security Concerns Drive Tech Innovation in the Financial Sector

Tech innovation that focuses on security as its top priority is changing practices in the financial sector. By the end of 2015, six of the largest 19 banks in the U.S. will have enabled biometrics for mobile banking, according to research and consulting firm Aite Group. J.P. Morgan Chase is now using Touch ID authentication for its mobile app, and so is USAA, which also offers facial and voice recognition features for its authentication procedures. Wells Fargo is testing an intelligent personal assistant, “a Siri for the financial services industry.” The major credit card companies—American Express, Visa, and Mastercard—are testing biometric initiatives that include facial recognition. Other experiments are underway with software that scans eyes.

There are issues yet to be resolved, reports The Wall Street Journal, such as how a cold that affects a voice can throw off the recognition algorithm, and how to filter out background noise. Facial recognition can be fooled with graphics. And there are privacy issues to be addressed, too. But with online security as an increasingly important concern, biometrics that are accurate and efficient to use will mark a major leap forward for secure mobile banking and financial transactions.  

I’m John Howell for 3BL Media.