Airtel Payments Bank Adds Biometric Verification Solution to Protect Accounts

India’s Airtel Payments Bank has added a biometric verification solution called Face Match to enhance the security of customer accounts.

This solution uses facial recognition and liveliness checks to verify account users in cases in which the bank’s machine learning (ML) algorithms have detected potentially fraudulent transactions, Airtel Payments Bank said in a Tuesday (Aug. 20) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

Face Match first calculates a threat score based on user behavior, transaction pattern and location, historical data, device and mobile app-based signals, according to the release.

If a user exceeds this threat score, the account is secured to prevent fraudulent transactions and the user is notified on their mobile number that they must complete a quick verification to proceed with a transaction, the release said.

A link in the notification takes the user to the Face Match section of the Airtel app, where they can take a selfie that is then compared to a photo from their onboarding process, per the release.

If there is a successful match, the user can continue with their transactions; if there isn’t, they must visit a banking location for biometric verification, the release said.

Biometric authentication tools have been embraced in the United States, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and AWS collaboration, “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Biometric Authentication in the Age of Mobile.”

More than half of U.S. consumers who completed online purchases used biometric authentication to validate their transactions, with 28% of these consumers using facial recognition and 49% using fingerprint scans.

That report also found that about 15% of U.S. consumers have not used biometric authentication methods but are interested in doing so, while 34% have not used those methods and are not interest in doing so.

In another deployment of biometric technology, IDEX Biometrics said Aug. 14 that TaluCard plans to launch a physical biometric payment card and complementary app designed to provide an accessible and secure payment solution for users with visual impairments.

Slated for introduction in the United Kingdom in late 2024, the payment card features fingerprint authentication, tactile guidance markers that help users locate the fingerprint sensor, and the ability to make contactless transactions without PINs or signatures.