Friday, February 3, 2006

Biometric Payments Safest by Far

Ask the Pentagon...

Access to the Pentagon initially required:

An ID Card (analogous to a check)
Then an ID Card with a magnetic stripe (analogous to a credit card)
Then it was an ID Card with magnetic strip AND a Secret Code (PIN Debit)

Access now requires biometrics. Why?

Because it's the most secure way to prevent "unauthorized" access. An card could be stolen as can a PIN number. Biometric's identifies personal traits by measuring patterns. Speaking of which:

Can you see a pattern developing here? Whether you want to prevent unauthorized entry to a highly secure building or secure your financial information, then biometrics is the best way to go.

Why then did Chase introduce it's "Blink" contactless card recently? You don't have to present a card, you don't have to swipe a card, and you don't have to enter a PIN. I'll talk about the concerns that various groups have regarding these new "contactless" cards tomorrow. In the meantime, it appears that the general public already suspects that the risk of fraud is increased via the use of these new cards. Here are the results of a poll taken by the Orlando Sentinel. The article can be found here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-cardsecurity2706jan27,0,1327000.story?track=rss

Would you use a credit card with a special chip for speedy checkouts that requires no signature or PIN?

28.1% Yes (619 responses)

65.8% No (1448 responses)

6.1% Undecided (134 responses)

2201 total responses
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-creditpoll012706,0,466974,post.poll