There will be more and more biometrics in digital payments

On December 31, 2020, PSD2 comes into force, a European directive with which we will try to crack down on the security of online transactions, creating a new regulatory standard that can reassure users and accompany them towards the reality of digital payments. In this step, we will try to make the Payment Service Providers (SPS) responsible so that they have to pay for any unauthorized operations out of their own pockets.

The importance of biometrics

The PSD2 therefore it forces the use of a Strong Customer Authentication process in which the user uses at least two of the three key elements of authentication:

knowledge (PIN, password) possession (credit card, token) inherence ( biometrics). Up to now, the most used tools to go in this direction have been codes sent via SMS, a double check in compliance with the legislation which over time has revealed some shadows and a user experience that is not always up to par. This is why, according to Nuance, biometrics services are destined to impose themselves, especially in some particularly sensitive areas:

The application requirements of the SCA affect the payments sector as a whole and, in particular, all financial institutions who are obliged to implement strong customer authentication both in internet access and in certain operations

Saverio Ricchiuto, Nuance Sales Director Enterprise Italy



"Nuance's biometric solutions for customer authentication and fraud detection", explains the group, listing behavioral biometrics, speech and facial recognition among the examples, "are based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms (AI) that enable fast and reliable authentication ". In the context of months in which digital transactions will again increase and in which it will be possible to buy up new market shares, biometrics can therefore make a difference both by improving the user experience and by maximizing the security of transactions. Neither aspect can be renounced, because the counterpoint comes from the resistance of cash and the need to translate as many users as possible towards the new dimension. Nuance has its own recipes and at this juncture sees great evolutionary potential available to banks, financial services and all those sectors that will build their post-pandemic relaunch on the security of payments.