The ISO 19092 standard describes the security framework for using biometric technologies - such as fingerprint scans, voice identification, iris images and facial scans - for authentication purposes in financial services.

The new standard promotes the integration of biometrics into the financial industry and the management of biometric data as part of the overall information security management programme, says the standards body.

"ISO 19092 offers a valuable international consensus-based tool to the financial industry that will encourage the secure implementation of biometrics as an authentication method within this sector," says Mark Lundin, chair of the ISO subcommittee that developed the standard. "This standard is one step ahead, paving the way for the next generation of safer and more reliable financial transactions, increasingly important in today's electronic era."

ISO 19092 addresses the use of biometrics for the authentication of employees and customers as well as the management and security of biometric data across enrolment, transmission and storage, verification, identification and termination processes.

Research released by Unisys last year found that the majority of customers in the UK and the US believe financial services firms should adopt biometric authentication technology to combat identity theft and protect their personal data.

Around 92% of UK consumers and 69% of US customers surveyed would prefer banks, credit card companies, healthcare providers and government organisations to use biometric technologies to verify personal identities, rather than other protection measures such as smart cards, security tokens, passwords and PINs, said Unisys.