Patent ID: 8499164

Claim:
A method for the biometric authentication of a user at a biometric authentication point in coordination with biometric data after the wireless identification of said user based on identification data provided via a portable electronic device when the user is located near the biometric authentication point, said method comprising: associating a biometric authentication point with an electronic system that comprises a biometric user interface, access to a data network and wireless communications hardware that permits said electronic system to wireless communicate with at least one portable electronic device located near the biometric authentication point; identify that a user carrying a portable electronic device is within a set perimeter or distance of the biometric authentication point associated with the electronic system based on wireless communication between the portable electronic device and the electronic system; wirelessly accessing via said at least one portable electronic device, identification information associated with a user seeking access through said biometric authentication point, said identification information including a user profile comprising user identification and a biometric template associated with said user; comparing said identification information including said user profile with a plurality of user profiles that include identification information and a biometric template accessible from a remote server over said data network to determine if at least one user profile among said plurality of user profiles matches said user profile of said user and if a biometric attribute of said user provided through said at least one portable electronic device by said user matches at least one biometric attributed randomly selected by said electronic system and included in said biometric template associated with said user; and authenticating said user at said biometric authentication point and granting said user access through said biometric authentication point, if at least one user profile among said plurality of profiles matches said user profile of said user and if said biometric attribute of said user provided through said at least one portable electronic device by said user matches said at least one biometric attributed randomly selected by said electronic system and included in said biometric template associated with said user.