Electronic fingerprint matching is by far the greatest use of biometric technology. Advocates have predicted for years that biometric technology is about ready to take off and become a universal method of verifying a person's claim that she is who she says she is. That's not yet the case, but for a variety of reasons it looks quite close. Biometrics are very accurate, they can be inexpensive if adopted in large enough quantities, they can be convenient to use when they don't intimidate users, and they can eliminate some of the costs of controlling access by present methods. Given the preoccupation with security in today's Internet-oriented business environment, the biometrics application most likely to get the attention of bankers is its potential role in controlling access to customers' accounts via an ATM or a personal computer.
Prices are the main barrier to a mass market for biometrics devices.
They're coming down fast. When built into PCs, as is now happening, the cost will be negligible. Standards are emerging Microsoft and other service providers have committed themselves to coming up with standard software interfaces for various types of devices. That's because present PKI systems authenticate the digital certificate that is related to a private key, not necessarily the person who is claiming identity. Bank IT departments, too, would welcome relief from the considerable expense of handling lost and stolen cards or forgotten PINs.