Mark of the Beast: Biometrics The Next Big Deal

Biometrics technology has become more mainstream at credit unions. It's driven by the need to authenticate members and staff accurately and effortlessly and propped up by a more widespread acceptability. “I would argue the next big thing is what we all talked about earlier this year and last year. Everyone knows about biometrics, we talked about how great it is, how excited consumers were, but we have not all talked about the value that it actually brings for those credit unions,” Dan Weis, mobile product leader for the Duluth, Ga.-based NCR, said. Biometrics technology has become more mainstream at credit unions. It's driven by the need to authenticate members and staff accurately and effortlessly and propped up by a more widespread acceptability. “I would argue the next big thing is what we all talked about earlier this year and last year. Everyone knows about biometrics, we talked about how great it is, how excited consumers were, but we have not all talked about the value that it actually brings for those credit unions,” Dan Weis, mobile product leader for the Duluth, Ga.-based NCR, said. Members who log into their mobile banking with biometrics have the same level of access as if they entered a valid username and password. Fingerprints are stored on a user's device and never leave it. The $1.44 billion, Phoenix-based Arizona Federal Credit Union uses all three NCR biometric methods. “Biometrics gives our members multiple ways to quickly and securely log in to their Arizona Federal account through our mobile app,” Eric Givens, senior director of digital banking at Arizona Federal, said. “We really want our members to be empowered in how they access their account, and biometrics is just one way in allowing for that.”