Facial recognition use to secure payments to grow 120% – Technologist

The number of users of software-based facial recognition to secure mobile payments will exceed 1.4 billion globally by 2025, from just 671 million in 2020 – a rapid growth of 120%.

This is based on a new study from Juniper Research which shows how widespread facial recognition has become; fuelled by its low barriers to entry, a front-facing camera and appropriate software. The research identified the implementation of FaceID by Apple as accelerating the growth of the wider facial recognition market, despite the challenges to facial recognition during the pandemic with the use of face masks.

The research recommends that facial recognition vendors implement robust and rapidly evolving AI based verification checks to ensure the validity of user identity, or risk losing user trust in the authentication method as spoofing attempts increase.

Fingerprint Sensors Dominant, Hardware-based Facial Recognition Growing

Entitled Mobile Payment Authentication: Biometrics, Regulation & Market Forecasts 2021-2025, the study found that fingerprint sensors are expected to be on 93% of biometrically-equipped smartphones in 2025. This compares favourably to hardware-based facial recognition, with just 17% of biometrically equipped smartphones featuring these capabilities in 2025.

“Hardware-based facial recognition is growing, but the ability to carry out facial recognition via software is limiting its adoption rate. As the need for a secure mobile authentication environment grows, smartphone vendors will need to increasingly turn to more robust hardware-based systems to keep pace with fraudsters’ evolving tactics,” said research co-author Susan Morrow.

The research also found that the use of voice recognition for payments is increasing, from 111 million users in 2020, to over 704 million in 2025. The study identified that, at present, voice recognition is mostly used in banking, and will struggle to grow beyond this, due to concerns around robustness. Juniper Research recommends that vendors adopt a multi-method biometric strategy, which encompasses facial recognition, fingerprints, voice and behavioural indicators to ensure a secure payment environment.