Consumers wary of biometric payment tech

Dive Brief:

About 40% of more than 3,000 consumers surveyed by payments platform company Paysafe and research firm Loudhouse said biometric solutions are too risky to use right now.
Paysafe and Loudhouse also found that 54% of consumers expect that by 2020 they will no longer need to carry cash for shopping.
In addition, about 31% said they already use mobile wallets, and about 18% have used biometric verification when buying online.

Dive Insight:

The findings on consumer feelings about biometrics comes just as Apple has announced its next foray into the technology with its Face ID feature that will be part of the upcoming iPhone X. The finding also runs counter to a survey from a little over four months ago that suggested almost 80% of consumers want more biometrics-enabled payment options (although the finding came courtesy of a company with eye-scanning technology.)

The unveiling of Face ID also has raised privacy concerns, with Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) among those wanting more info from Apple on how it will protect user privacy.

Some of this reaction is to be expected with a new technology capable of identifying someone from an image. Facial recognition as a technology field is not at all new, but Apple's high-profile use could generate more interest, and more controversy.

The findings from Paysafe and Loudhouse don't necessarily mean that a large number of consumers won't ever be willing to use biometrics, only that they may not be ready to right at this moment. Those feelings may evolve toward an embrace of the technology over time especially as companies like Apple make it more widely available and easy to use, and talk more about its advantages.

In any case, there is more to this study than the biometrics figure. In addition to the high percentage of consumers believing they will shop without cash in the foreseeable future, another 57% of those surveyed said they us their mobile wallets "much more" than they did two years ago to make payments. The mobile payments market remains crowded, but users are starting to buy in to the concept.