Banks look at face recognition for ATMs
Published: 10 Oct 2001 10:27 BST
Biometric-enabled ATMs could be doling out cash to Australian bank customers within a year, following the launch of a technology that promises to reduce the cost of converting existing ATM security infrastructure.
The use of biometric technology -- the analysis of certain unique body "signatures", such as fingerprint and retina scanning -- for ATM security purposes has long been bandied about as a viable alternative to personal identification numbers (PINs). However, the prohibitive expense associated with deploying a brand new fleet of biometrically-secure ATMs has seen many banks adopt a wait-and-see approach.
"I feel that [biometric ATMs in Australia] could fly a lot sooner than we anticipate," said Ho Chang, chief executive and president of security vendor BioID, which is part-owned by Biodata Information Technology AG. "We have been approached by a couple of [Australian] ATM makers who have expressed interest in integrating our technology into their existing ATMs."
Biodata yesterday launched BioID 3.0 in Australia -- a product that uses face, voice and lip-movement recognition for identification and authorisation. The software relies on a standard Web camera and microphone, thus alleviating the need for costly scanning technology.
"The biggest concerns banks and ATM makers have is how to roll out biometric technology. They don't want to replace the technology in current systems because that would be too expensive," Chang said.
"We see new ATMs going up every year and it's just a matter of time before they think about replacing old ones with new technology, and they're starting to think about the new types of [security] infrastructure they want to see."
Chang said Biodata has been working closely with personal privacy groups around the world to reassure users about the non-invasive nature of BioID 3.0. Privacy advocates are more likely to back a solution that involves photographing faces and recording voices for verification, rather than one that requires personal details like fingerprint or iris scans.
"Our technology has been quite well received in terms of privacy protection, because the user doesn't have to give away anything. You have to actually participate and cooperate in order to be recognized, whereas fingerprint scanning means your fingerprint can be used and recognized without you actually being there."
There are already "quite a few installations" of biometric-enabled ATMs in the US and Europe, with fingerprint and iris recognition security measures favoured over the more expensive retina scanning option, according to Chang.
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