Paypal look forward to the end of Passwords with Biometrics

Paypal want to see the end of passwords by investing in biometrics, and more specifically fingerprint readers.

If you run into problems trying to remember a password on your mobile or computer when trying to buy something, then things could be about to get easier with this latest news. The days of the lowly password are numbered…

We rely on passwords in our everyday lives and deciding upon one can be a challenge. Ideally, the best password would be something like Az1f6&jWz – but you’d never remember it. So the industry is looking to ditch passwords, and is turning to a variety of solutions, such as voice recognition, key stroke analysis and finger print identification.

Payments firm PayPal is one of those leading the changes, and president David Marcus says the aim is to make the whole process seamless. The best protection is the one you don’t see.” Paypal want to move away from passwords, and get to embedded fingerprint scanners on mobile phones. “You’re going to start seeing that type of experience later this year, with a mass roll-out in the year to come.”

Earlier this month, PayPal, Lenovo and others announced the formation of the Fido Alliance (Fast Identity Online) to change the way online security checks are carried out.

For PayPal, solving the password security problem is important because so many people now use it to make purchases – it has 125 million customers in more than 190 countries.

“You shop offline more than you shop online, but in most of these transactions mobile is involved now,” says Mr Marcus.

“As the offline market is 17 times bigger than the online market, there is still huge untapped potential for us.”

The key driver for this has been the way in which customers are increasingly using phones, tablets and other handheld devices to make purchases.

Last year, PayPal recorded $145bn (£95bn) in total transactions, of which $14bn were via mobile devices, says Mr Marcus.

It will be exciting to see when and how these biometric changes will be implemented!