Biometrics: 2022 is the year of facial verification

Biometric technology has only been taken seriously by many in financial services since the start of the pandemic, which made the remote onboarding of customers a necessity. Biometrics is already proving itself to be an important identity verification option for financial institutions, particularly as technology continues to evolve in this area.

Increase in fraud

Biometrics is becoming increasingly vital in the digital age as growing online engagement has led to a corresponding surge in fraud. In the banking sector, UK Finance found that in the first half of 2021 criminals stole a total of £753.9 million through fraudulent activity, an increase of 30 per cent compared to the first half of 2021.

Biometric authentication = security and improved customer experience

It is biometric technology which identifies a person’s physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, or behavioural characteristics, such as activity on a tablet, which is leading the way in verifying someone’s identity in the online world. These unique identifiers cannot, in theory, be replicated, avoiding the need for often forgotten passwords or time-consuming security questions.

This results in the delivery of a positive customer experience, as people avoid the frustrations they usually face when using traditional and sometimes less secure methods – such as passwords - to access their accounts.

Why 2022 will see facial verification lead the way

It is facial verification that’s standing out today as the pre-eminent form of biometric technology. It works like this: at the onboarding stage, once an applicant has scanned and forwarded their primary ID document that includes a photo (such as a driver’s licence or passport), via a device of their choice, Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology check its validity in real time. Once document verification has taken place, the applicant takes a selfie with their smartphone, which the software scrutinises via an algorithm within the technology, comparing it with the master ID image. The algorithm can provide exceptional matching accuracy by instantly distinguishing differences between the selfie and the ID image, including head position, hairstyle, facial hair, skin imperfections, makeup, and age.

What is setting facial verification apart as a must-have in the biometrics space is that it’s reaching maturity with the addition of liveness checks. Liveness checks prevent ‘spoofing’ which involves criminals using creative methods, like 2D images and video playback, to trick the technology and prove they are the person they are impersonating. It’s facial verification technology that offers a ‘challenge response,’ by asking the individual to blink to confirm eye movement and proof of life, which can establish whether the person is real and not a static image.

Facial verification, with the addition of liveness checks, is quickly establishing itself as the leading method for prospective customers and existing account holders to rapidly, yet securely, pass through the ID verification process; enhancing the customer journey.

ATMs and facial verification

A number of forward-thinking financial institutions are looking beyond facial verification for remote onboarding purposes, and are currently investigating its application with ATM technology.

There’s an opportunity to ‘read’ the face of an individual looking to withdraw money by placing cameras around an ATM. Once the cameras have verified the customer's identity, they can then withdraw the funds they require without a card or PIN. It’s a service that forward-looking financial institutions such as CaixaBank in Spain and OCBC Bank in Singapore already offer their customers.

It’s worth pointing out that the use of facial verification technology is rapidly becoming mainstream at eGates in airports to speed processing at immigration.

Other biometric technology is grappling with security issues

Because facial verification is nearing maturity by solving evolving security issues such as ‘spoofing’ it is leading the way in the biometrics space. Biometric technology in other areas simply aren’t at the requisite level to confidently confirm identity on their own. This includes behavioural biometrics, which identifies unique patterns in human activity, such as recognising the behaviour of someone using a tablet or mouse. Additionally, biometric technology using other physical characteristics, like voice, is also lagging because of vulnerability to spoofing.

Even fingerprints, which were once seen to be the best way to undertake biometric verification, have encountered security issues due to savvier fraudsters. There has been a growth in incidences where hackers have stolen and replicated fingerprint data for deceptive purposes. Also, fingerprints can sometimes be a struggle to read accurately, depending on climatic conditions and a dirty screen.

Due to the security issues other biometric technologies are currently wrestling with it is facial verification – offering liveness checks – which is set to be the standout biometric technology for the financial services industry in 2022.