Credit cards are on the verge of becoming obsolete. In the United States, at Thrifway supermarket chains, customers are paying for their purchases with… a fingerprint.
What’s the principle? It combines a bank account number with a fingerprint. Simply placing your index finger on a reader is enough to pay the bill. While fingerprint payment is still in the testing phase in France, distribution companies are paying close attention. Biometrics has a promising future in France…
At Home or in the Car
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| Fingerprint Recognition Lock. |
Biometrics is both secure and convenient, promising to make our daily lives easier in the future. At home, fingerprint locks have replaced traditional locks or two-code locks (Zalix lock, 850 euros).
In cars, fingerprint locks serve as anti-theft devices: in the case of a “car-jacking” scenario, when the engine is stopped at a red light, it will remain inactive for a period unless the owner is verified (Zalix6 lock, 58 euros).
In the office, to avoid using passwords, companies like Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Sagem have designed computers, personal assistants, or mice that can recognize their owners through a fingerprint scan. Heikki Ailisto, a Finnish researcher, has created a mobile phone that can identify its user by their gait.
At the Workplace
With mandatory security features, biometrics has a bright future at border locations. At Roissy Airport (Paris), for four months, the Pégèse system has recognized voluntary passengers through biometric measurements, significantly speeding up customs checks.
If biometrics can eliminate waiting lines, it will facilitate the detection of counterfeit documents through a nationwide voting system. Starting in 2006, French passports will comply with European standards, including a photo like that on an ID card and a digital fingerprint.
The first step towards biometric identification has been taken, while we await the introduction of electronic identification with national insurance (Ines), which is expected to debut in 2007.
