Purchases Right at Your Fingertips

Imagine a day when paying your grocery bill is as simple as scanning your fingertips across a screen. According to recent reports, this day may not be far away. Retail stores like Costco, Wal-Mart and Target are already considering the pros and cons of fingerprint scanning payments, also known as biometric payment.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Emme Kozloff recently released a report stating that biometric payment could not only expedite the checkout process in many stores, but it could also reduce instances of fraud and identity theft, while saving money for retailers by decreasing credit card transaction fees. Kozloff points out that a 20 percent reduction in transaction processing costs at stores like Wal-Mart could lead to a 3 to 4 percent earnings increase by 2009. Supermarket chains like Albertsons, Cub Foods and Piggly Wiggly are already testing out biometric payment.

Technology

So, how exactly does fingerprint scanning work? Customers who want to set up a biometric payment account simply apply at in-store station. The customer scans their fingerprint, enters their phone number and provides checking and credit card account information. Once a customer's account is established, they simply place their fingertip on a scanner at the register when they are ready to check out. The customer then enters their phone number and selects whether they want to pay by credit card, debit card or checking account.

Considerations

Although biometric payment could offer customers an easier, faster checkout and decrease their chances of identity theft, critics of the technology argue that fingerprint scanning is a violation of privacy. Advocates of fingerprint scanning claim that the scanners store miniature measurements of the print as opposed to the full image of the customer's fingerprint. Therefore, the store would not be able to reconstruct a complete fingerprint from the scanners for any type of fraudulent purposes.

Because biometric payment offers many benefits to both consumers and retailers, fingerprint scanning could be popping up in an increasing number of stores very soon. However, with the threat of privacy issues, it may take time for consumers to embrace the new technology.

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