How Are Identity Management Solutions Modernizing Banking and Financial Institutions?

Username and password combination was believed to be the most secure authentication mechanism in Banking and Financial institutions but with the rising instances of fraudulent transactions and data breaches and identity theft is getting increase very fastly and reaches to a new height. Traditional passwords and keys no longer provide enough security to the banking and financial industry customers.

It is very important for banking and finance sectors, that their customer trust the login of their apps and websites because they are handing over their sensitive, personal information such as customers’ home addresses, bank statements, social security numbers, as well as other financial data. Keeping each customers information safe is of the utmost importance baseline — nobody wants to send out a notification that their system has been breached.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, banks are losing almost $450 billion annually to caber-crimes and fake transactions. Same way Financial services organizations are also at a prime target for hackers looking to steal and sell those valuable data.
This clearly shows the problem and the reason why these sectors need to upgrade their security systems to provide stronger authentication schemes. That’s why the majority of modern banking apps use a multi-factor authentication system that requires identification with the help of at least one biometrical parameter such as fingerprints or RFID Card reader systems. Today fingerprint scanner or USB fingerprint reader devices are by far the most popular form of biometric security used in banking and financial industry. Biometric security system offers greater security than passwords as passwords can be shared (intentionally or otherwise), while biometrics are extremely difficult to replicate.

How this fingerprint biometric system works?

A standard biometric access control system is composed of four main types of components – a sensor for scanning a fingerprint, a quality assessment unit , a processor which stores the fingerprint database, and software which compares and matches the fingerprint with the predefined database. A fingerprint is usually matched to a reference number, or PIN number which is then matched to a person’s name or account. if any match is found user will be granted to access his/her account.

How do fingerprint authentication works for banking sectors for their customers?

The term “biometrics” refers to the collection and use of biological data and behavioral characteristics such as fingerprints, eyes, and heart rate. Banks and all other Financial institutions are utilizing the technology to develop next-generation identification controls to prevent customers from fraud and make their transactions more secure and enhance the customer experience.

Most smartphones today are equipped with fingerprint scanners and most Banking and Financial institutions are providing their service through online mobile banking apps. Customers can easily sign into their mobile banking with a simple touch and their unique fingerprint scan which has been taken by the bank at the time of account creation. Accessing banking functionality through a mobile app with just a simple verification process.

How do fingerprint authentication works for banking sectors for their employees?

Biometrics plays a huge role in employee identification and security in banking and finance sectors. Many of them have implemented biometric fingerprint readers to enhance remote access and management by adding another layer of network security for system administrators. Biometric fingerprint scanner like the USB fingerprint readers which are extremely user-friendly and compact are also being used increasingly to track attendance and work hours for employees. Here data and customer’s account security is of the highest priority for banks because financial data is of key importance along with securing the transaction records and its accessibility to authorized personnel or customer.

Benefits of biometric security authentication

When users have multiple accounts and devices, they get fed-up of remembering passwords for all those accounts which leads them to note down their passwords or use the same one for all accounts face big security issues.

Biometric fingerprint access control security frees the users from remembering and entering their password every time they log on to their laptop, computers or mobile devices. Instead of entering a password, users simply scan their fingerprints to authenticate themselves and log on to their accounts in less than a second. Fingerprints are unique for every individual, nobody except the authorized customer will be able to access his or her account. Hence it enables easy and fastest authentication.

The increased convenience and security provided by biometrics led to its increased adoption by banks for the identity management system. It eliminates all password management costs and allows centralized management of customer’s credentials and access rights and reduce database normalization and maintenance cost.