The Right Balance

Optimal biometric implementations manage to strike an ideal balance of security, convenience, and privacy. The privacy attribute is particularly crucial for private sector implementations, which rely on customer confidence in using a biometric system. Studies have shown that once this trust is established, consumers will adapt quickly and prefer using the biometric system (as opposed to traditional identification methods). In addition, use of biometric systems in retail has shown increases in sales, most likely due to reduction in transaction processing time. In many ways, these results lead back to the ability of the implementer to uphold privacy rights and gain consumer trust.