For decades, biometric scanners were a thing of sci-fi movies or places of very high security, where futuristic citizens spoke a password to open their front door and iris scans opened the doors to sensitive government sectors.
Recently however, biometric scanners have been popping in places ordinary places like the airport, the ATM, and the company time clock. The United States government just announced it will use finger scan technology as a way to monitor its borders.
In the past few years, Virginia-based BioPay and San Francisco-based Pay By Touch have been at the forefront of bringing token-less biometric payment systems into everyday life. With a simple scan of the index finger, these companies' products allow consumers to pay for their groceries or cash a check without having to remember their credit card, checkbook, or identification.
Paying by finger scan is not a thing of the future, officials from both companies say, rather it is a technology for the here and now as businesses and consumers across the United States are experiencing the efficiency and security of these products.
"With security becoming more and more important these days, people and companies are starting to see that biometrics have a place and the financial aspect is just another one of these applications," said Robyn Porter, communications manager at BioPay.
Established in 1999, BioPay came out with its first biometric payment system in 2000. Porter said the company focuses on fingerprint scanners that link a person to his or her checking account. The company's most popular product is Paycheck Secure, a payroll cashing system that appeals to check cashing businesses and the "non-banking" segment of the population.
To enroll in the system, a person provides identification to the teller at a check-cashing store or bank. The teller then enters the information into the Paycheck Secure system via a terminal built by BioPay. After the identification information is entered, the teller takes the person's picture and scans his or her finger into the system. The customer enters a 10-digit code that will enable the system to easily find their finger scan for verification. After they are enrolled, customers can then cash their check simply by scanning their finger and having the check scanned by the cashier.
The company also has a check authorization system for retail merchants in which the check and the person's finger are scanned at the register.
In both instances, the system checks the authenticity of the check by reading its Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) and checks to see if the individual has exhausted his or her funds. If the customer is out of funds or has tried to pass a bad check in the system, the transaction is cancelled.
Business clients enjoy using the biometric payment and check cashing systems because they provide a strong defense against fraud, Porter said. The system is especially protective against "kiting" where an individual passes numerous checks in an area and then leaves the area before they bounce.
That type of bank fraud is impossible with BioPay, Porter said, because the system would be onto the individual after the first bounced check and would cancel all future transactions.
Retailers appreciate the fact that the system promotes paying by check, in which a business incurs fewer fees than when a customer uses a credit or debit card. "Before biometrics, merchants were wary of checks because they allowed for fraud to enter the picture," Porter said. "Now they are more open to accepting checks."
BioPay boasts more than 170 business clients, ranging from pharmacies to national banks like Bank of America. The product also appears to be a hit with consumers. In April 2004, the company announced that more than 1 million people had enrolled in its biometric identification system.
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