Report: Teens, young adults ready to ditch passwords in favor of biometrics

According to new research conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of Visa Europe, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of 16 to 24 year old consumers in the UK would feel comfortable using various biometric security measures, such as facial recognition, fingerprints and retina scans, to make payments in place of traditional authentication methods like passwords. Another 69 percent of people polled in this age group also believe biometric payments will make their lives faster and easier.

In addition, the research found that the approach of this generation (commonly referred to as “Generation Z”) to current security options places them at greater risk of data and financial compromise.

For example, those within this age group were found to be more likely than older adults to use only a single PIN number (32 percent) or password (14 percent) when protecting their personal data. In addition, Generation Z is also more liberal in sharing their security information than older generations. According to the research findings:

• 34 percent have shared their debit or credit card PIN number with someone, versus 23 percent of all other respondents
• 32 percent have shared their smartphone password, versus 10 percent of all respondents
• 22 percent have shared their internet banking password, versus 7 percent of all respondents

This group is also more likely to find existing security measures an irritating step when paying for something (64 percent vs 59 percent of all adults). More than half of Generation Z believes that passwords and PIN codes will no longer be necessary by the end of the decade.

They also believe that, overall, biometrics are more secure than non-biometric identification methods. When asked to rate biometric forms of authentication on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being least secure and 10 being most secure), generation Z awarded biometrics a 7 on average, compared with non-biometrics being rated a 6 out of 10.

“We have more logins and passwords than ever to help keep us secure online and on the high street, but for Gen Z it just feels like an unnecessary burden. Biometric authentication using fingerprint recognition or retinal scans offers an ideal solution, combining unique security and ease of use. As products come online with these features integrated, we expect to see multiple passwords as the industry standard begin to decline,” said Jonathan Vaux, executive director at Visa Europe. “For banks and product providers this means two challenges. Firstly, to continue and quicken the pace of development on biometrics to answer this demand from Generation Z. Secondly, to continue to evaluate the increasing range of authentication options to ensure customer convenience and security as payment increasingly becomes embedded into a range of applications.”

Of the new payment methods available to consumers, Generation Z is most keen on verification via fingerprint scanning. Nearly 70 percent of 16-24 year olds say they want to use rather than passwords by 2020. Other methods interest this generation such as retina scans (39 percent) and facial recognition (27 percent), though voice recognition (12 percent), fast DNA samples (15 percent) and implanted chips (16 percent) remain less popular options.