The truth about the biometric and contactless cards

Technology has made the lives of men easier. It has imparted the power in the hands of the people by means of which they can easily make their day to day activities easier and more flexible. It is because of the advancement in technology that people in the present times are able to manage the world on their fingertips. A revolution came in the market when cashless transactions by means of technology were introduced. All of a sudden, anyone and everyone was able to make transactions by means of a card. There was no need for cash and this was accepted readily by the people. As of the current time, when it comes to purchasing a product or a service, most people nowadays prefer making payment by a card instead of cash.

The glitch in the technology

However, a basic glitch entered the system when cases of hacking were reposted by people globally. Since the cards used for shopping worked on pins and codes, some hackers made use of the same technology to copy anyone’s pin and get access to the card of the person easily. In such a time, there was a dire need to have a system which allows you to keep the details of your card secure and thus, biometric cards were made. These biometric cards were quite easy to use and keep safe since they made use of the fingerprint of a person instead of a pin. For transactions up to $30, a person did not even have to enter the pin as everything happened just by feeding your thumbprint inside the computer.

A step forward

The introduction of NatWest cards was a huge leap of faith as these cards claimed that for any amount of transaction, one does not need to have a pin or for that matter, any other form of verification. All that you need to do can be done with the click of a finger. You only need to enter your thumbprint and after verification, your card shall be granted access. However, a major problem occurred when the card stopped working. No matter how many times you enter the thumbprint and fingerprint, it was difficult to make payment by the means of the card, pointing to the fact that the contactless technology is not yet ready.

A note on the advent of contactless cards

Contactless shopping cards might seem quite exciting to the people but as a matter of fact, even they are not safe. Obviously, fingerprint cannot be duplicated but surely it can be recreated and this is what the hackers do. Biometric information can be remade easily and the plethora of videos present on YouTube are just a piece of evidence. You can use gummy bears, tapes and any other tool to replicate the fingerprint. The bottom line lies in the fact that once the fingerprint is replicated, there is no way by means of which you can change it.

Thus, contactless technology is great but necessary improvements must be made before it is completely suitable for the general public.