eWeek: Some Consumers Resist Retail Biometrics

Shouldn't the Headline say SOME consumers resist? Or better yet "Some UNEDUCATED" consumers resist retail biometrics? It would be more accurate.

Here's an excerpt from an article in Progressive Grocer published the SAME day with the exact OPPOSITE take on retail biometrics.

JANUARY 30, 2006 -- HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- It may not take a rocket scientist to use a biometric payment system, but at Star Super Market, that's just who is using the technology, which was installed in all three of the retailer's stores last week.

Darden Heritage told Progressive Grocer. "Many of our customers are engineers, so we're in the perfect market for biometrics, "as opposed to a rural area" where we might have to spend a lot of time training the customers

Heritage installed the systems to help speed up transactions at the checkout and for age verification

Ironically, now the lines are mostly shoppers waiting to register for the service. "At one store with particularly high debit card usage, the customers couldn't wait to sign up," said Heritage.

For the full article go here: http://progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001920426

For those who live in "rural areas" that need to be educated on retail biometrics...

Do you think paying by check is safer and less intrusive? How about a credit/debit carsd? Even worse, how about EBT?

Read on...

Did you realize that a check is simply nothing more than a blank piece of paper filled with all your financial information. It has your name, your address, your city,state,zip,phone, your bank's name, it's routing number, and your personal account number at your bank. We order 1000 checks imprinted with this information and then start handing them out to strangers working at a cash register.

The check then passes through 5-8 more strangers hands who could easily copy any and all information. When the 1000 checks are gone, (having passed through 5000-8000 strangers hands) we order 1000 more.

Now...how do I get a copy of your check?

1. I could get a job at a grocery store or as a cashier somewhere...
2. I could pay a minimum wage cashier $25 bucks for every copy of a check they give me.
(of course I'd only pay $5 if I gave them a digital camera cellphone, theirs free to keep!)
3. I could buy 10 items (1 at a time) and use my own cell phone to snap pictures of your checks)

I think you're starting to get the idea...Still not scared? Go to this site and enter your check info: http://yourfavorite.com/checkwriter/verify.htm

The point is that checks are simply the most dangerous payment mechanism you could possibly use.

On the other hand, the retail location might be using check imaging. This is potentially worse because the image of the check is transmitted electronically. (where the hackers, phishers and pharmers live)

Let's move to Debit Cards. Do you have a camera built into your cell phone? Think it could take a picture of someone's debit card number when they take it out to pay? Do you have Photoshop? Then you can take the image, blow it up, read the name, account number and expiration date. Guess what? Did you ever hear of the card not present transaction? It means the card doesn't have to be present. Just the name/card number and expiration date. You say you still need an address for address verification? Can you say Google?

What about Credit Cards? To make a long story short, see Debit Cards above. Time to go shopping on eBay?...Amazon?...Overstock? You get the idea.

Biometrics uses a finger "SCAN" to identify about 40 data points. We have over 1000 on our finger. So a hacker would be about 960 data points short of a picnic basket.

I've been in the payments industry and it's certain that biometrics is the wave of the future, whether it's fingerscan, iris, or palm veins.

Think of it this way..I'll give you an analogy:

Level 4 access to the Pentagon initially required a badge (check) then a Card (credit card) then a Card with a Secret Code (PIN Debit) but now it requires biometrics. Can you see a pattern developing here? If you want to protect unauthorized entry to a building or your financial information, then biometrics is currently the way to go.

Analogy 2:

If you needed to go on a Food Stamp program, and were self-conscious about it, would you rather pull out your Food Stamps (cash) your EBT Card (debit card) or Pay by Touch? If you used Pay by Touch there would be no way to know you were on welfare. So the way I see it, biometrics PROTECT your privacy!

Your finger is scanned and the scanner identifies 40 data points out of over 1000.

It's not a fingerprint, it's not a finger image. It's a finger scan. The cashier scans the groceries, you scan your finger.

It's that simple. FingerScan. It shouldn't only be rocket scientists who understand the simple fact that it's SAFER than any current payment system out there.

Hold on to your bibles people...if you're going to "Buy Bull", use your finger...it's safer and exponentially more secure.

You're right - "some consumers..."

Scott