What Are Biometric Credit Cards
How many times have you gone to the grocery store or fast food check out lane and all of a sudden discovered that you forgot your purse or wallet? Imagine if you could use some other way to pay for that item based on something unique about you. Biometric security measures are already in place in some very sensitive highly secure places. If you have ever had to access a building by using your thumb print, then you have already been exposed to biometric technologies. Apply the same technology to credit cards and other financial transactions and you have opened a completely new way for consumers to pay for purchases.
It would be quite convenient if all we had to do was go to a convenience store and give our thumbprint to pay for an item. Your unique thumbprint will then identify that you are authorized to use certain credit cards. After selecting which card you want to use, the computer will then use your thumbprint information to retrieve your credit card number, expiration date and your available balance. Once you give the final authorization, the credit card transaction is finalized.
There are other methods to retrieve your biometric profile besides your fingerprint. Retina identification is another way to gather such personal data. The human retina is just like you fingerprint in the sense that every person has unique features that set them apart from every other individual. Although not 100% perfected, retinal scanning is being used by agencies such as the FBI, CIA and prison institutions. This same technology can be used to identify your credit card or banking information also.
One of the big advantages of using some sort of biometric wallet is the security features that such a system has to offer. No longer are you tied to carrying around your plastic credit cards or paper money with you everywhere you go. That completely eliminates the chances of you loosing your wallet full of valuable credit cards and money. Your wallet now becomes built into your physical person. This also completely eliminates the chances of you forgetting your wallet at home. No longer can your overly frugal friend forget his or her money when you go out. With biometric identification technology incorporated into our financial transactions, even the checkout station at the grocery store will move smother.
This futuristic wallet has already been attempted by a company called Pay by Touch. Unfortunately, they were unable to make a successful go at it due to bad management and hardware costs. At this point there are too many configuration and cost obstacles to overcome. However, this technology will eventually be used by everyone from your bank to your hospital. The ability to identify a person’s medical history instantaneously will definitely help save many lives. I am quite certain that this technology will be embraced in the future. Perhaps it may or may not be cost effective to implement such a system at this time, but there will certainly come a day when costs come down and the technology is available at Wal-Mart.
How many times have you gone to the grocery store or fast food check out lane and all of a sudden discovered that you forgot your purse or wallet? Imagine if you could use some other way to pay for that item based on something unique about you. Biometric security measures are already in place in some very sensitive highly secure places. If you have ever had to access a building by using your thumb print, then you have already been exposed to biometric technologies. Apply the same technology to credit cards and other financial transactions and you have opened a completely new way for consumers to pay for purchases.
It would be quite convenient if all we had to do was go to a convenience store and give our thumbprint to pay for an item. Your unique thumbprint will then identify that you are authorized to use certain credit cards. After selecting which card you want to use, the computer will then use your thumbprint information to retrieve your credit card number, expiration date and your available balance. Once you give the final authorization, the credit card transaction is finalized.
There are other methods to retrieve your biometric profile besides your fingerprint. Retina identification is another way to gather such personal data. The human retina is just like you fingerprint in the sense that every person has unique features that set them apart from every other individual. Although not 100% perfected, retinal scanning is being used by agencies such as the FBI, CIA and prison institutions. This same technology can be used to identify your credit card or banking information also.
One of the big advantages of using some sort of biometric wallet is the security features that such a system has to offer. No longer are you tied to carrying around your plastic credit cards or paper money with you everywhere you go. That completely eliminates the chances of you loosing your wallet full of valuable credit cards and money. Your wallet now becomes built into your physical person. This also completely eliminates the chances of you forgetting your wallet at home. No longer can your overly frugal friend forget his or her money when you go out. With biometric identification technology incorporated into our financial transactions, even the checkout station at the grocery store will move smother.
This futuristic wallet has already been attempted by a company called Pay by Touch. Unfortunately, they were unable to make a successful go at it due to bad management and hardware costs. At this point there are too many configuration and cost obstacles to overcome. However, this technology will eventually be used by everyone from your bank to your hospital. The ability to identify a person’s medical history instantaneously will definitely help save many lives. I am quite certain that this technology will be embraced in the future. Perhaps it may or may not be cost effective to implement such a system at this time, but there will certainly come a day when costs come down and the technology is available at Wal-Mart.
Labels: biometric credit cards, business credit cards, credit cards
Credit Card / Financial news blog post by Todd Holliday at 6:45 PM 