Post by Mech on Nov 19, 2003 7:06:35 GMT -5
AH YES...THE CASHLESS SOCIETY SLAVE GRID IS FALLING INTO PLACE
Posted 11/16/2003 10:52 PM
Thumbs pay at some stores
By Michelle Kessler USA TODAY
A pet store in Herndon, Va., will sell puppies for cash, credit, check — or your thumbprint.
Customers at Fox Mill Pets can pay for the doggy in the window by placing a thumb on a fingerprint scanner at the register.
The scanner is connected to a computer, which analyzes the print. Because thumbprints are unique, the computer can match the print to a customer and deduct the price of the puppy from that customer's checking account.
Count this as one of the first retail applications of biometric technology, which uses physical characteristics to identify people.
Biometric devices such as fingerprint readers, retinal scanners and facial recognition systems are often part of high-tech security — in life and in science fiction. But until recently, biometrics has been considered too expensive and cumbersome for everyday use.
Trials, such as Fox Mill Pets' partnership with biometrics firm BioPay, may prove otherwise. Eleven Food 4 Less stores in the Midwest and three Kroger grocery stores in Texas are trying fingerprint scanners, as are other shops.
Advocates say the technology will improve customer service. Even though customers are usually asked to provide a second form of ID, the thumbprint reader can be a minute faster than writing a check, biometric companies say. And by making it easier to deduct money from a bank account, it can reduce credit card transactions, for which stores usually pay a fee.
"It improves productivity, reduces operating costs, improves cash flow and lowers fraud," says Ron Smith, CEO of Biometric Access, which makes fingerprint systems similar to the one at Fox Mill Pets. "It puts the 'express' in 'express lane.' " Pay By Touch is another player in the market.
Privacy, data concerns
Meta Group analyst Earl Perkins estimates the biometric market to be less than $400 million, excluding law enforcement. Retail systems are a sliver of that, he says. And those in use are far from the slick, omnipresent ID readers seen in Tom Cruise's Minority Report.
For most systems, customers must sign up, which takes about five minutes. They usually must provide their name, phone number and checking account or credit card information, and a fingerprint. The information is stored in a database. The next time customers buy something, the computer compares their print with ones in the database to find a match.
Biometric companies say they can and do keep data confidential and that their systems are safe. Yet, there are concerns regarding biometrics, including:
•Accuracy. At best, fingerprint scanners are about 98% accurate, Meta's Perkins says. Some people have fingerprints that scanners can't read, and the way the computer analyzes them is not perfect. A system might refuse a legitimate customer — or let an impostor buy goods on someone else's account, Perkins says.
•Security. Biometric systems store huge amounts of personal data. Some systems record the data on a computer inside the store. Others record it on computers at the biometric company's headquarters. Critics say data will always be at risk. "All it takes is one good breach," says Will Doherty of online advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Benefits grow
Still, retailers are seeing benefits. Southern California grocery chain Cardenas Market used to lose $500,000 a year on check-cashing fraud, says Steve Vallance, general manager. Although it required customers to produce paper identification and a thumbprint using ink pad and paper, prints were often too smudged to be valuable.
Last November, Cardenas put biometric fingerprint scanners in its nine stores. Fraud has fallen to fewer than 1% of the half-million checks the stores cash in a year. Vallance says that's worth the cost, which is usually about $175 for equipment and $75 a month in fees. "Biometrics is one way to really identify the customer you're dealing with," he says.
Posted 11/16/2003 10:52 PM
Thumbs pay at some stores
By Michelle Kessler USA TODAY
A pet store in Herndon, Va., will sell puppies for cash, credit, check — or your thumbprint.
Customers at Fox Mill Pets can pay for the doggy in the window by placing a thumb on a fingerprint scanner at the register.
The scanner is connected to a computer, which analyzes the print. Because thumbprints are unique, the computer can match the print to a customer and deduct the price of the puppy from that customer's checking account.
Count this as one of the first retail applications of biometric technology, which uses physical characteristics to identify people.
Biometric devices such as fingerprint readers, retinal scanners and facial recognition systems are often part of high-tech security — in life and in science fiction. But until recently, biometrics has been considered too expensive and cumbersome for everyday use.
Trials, such as Fox Mill Pets' partnership with biometrics firm BioPay, may prove otherwise. Eleven Food 4 Less stores in the Midwest and three Kroger grocery stores in Texas are trying fingerprint scanners, as are other shops.
Advocates say the technology will improve customer service. Even though customers are usually asked to provide a second form of ID, the thumbprint reader can be a minute faster than writing a check, biometric companies say. And by making it easier to deduct money from a bank account, it can reduce credit card transactions, for which stores usually pay a fee.
"It improves productivity, reduces operating costs, improves cash flow and lowers fraud," says Ron Smith, CEO of Biometric Access, which makes fingerprint systems similar to the one at Fox Mill Pets. "It puts the 'express' in 'express lane.' " Pay By Touch is another player in the market.
Privacy, data concerns
Meta Group analyst Earl Perkins estimates the biometric market to be less than $400 million, excluding law enforcement. Retail systems are a sliver of that, he says. And those in use are far from the slick, omnipresent ID readers seen in Tom Cruise's Minority Report.
For most systems, customers must sign up, which takes about five minutes. They usually must provide their name, phone number and checking account or credit card information, and a fingerprint. The information is stored in a database. The next time customers buy something, the computer compares their print with ones in the database to find a match.
Biometric companies say they can and do keep data confidential and that their systems are safe. Yet, there are concerns regarding biometrics, including:
•Accuracy. At best, fingerprint scanners are about 98% accurate, Meta's Perkins says. Some people have fingerprints that scanners can't read, and the way the computer analyzes them is not perfect. A system might refuse a legitimate customer — or let an impostor buy goods on someone else's account, Perkins says.
•Security. Biometric systems store huge amounts of personal data. Some systems record the data on a computer inside the store. Others record it on computers at the biometric company's headquarters. Critics say data will always be at risk. "All it takes is one good breach," says Will Doherty of online advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Benefits grow
Still, retailers are seeing benefits. Southern California grocery chain Cardenas Market used to lose $500,000 a year on check-cashing fraud, says Steve Vallance, general manager. Although it required customers to produce paper identification and a thumbprint using ink pad and paper, prints were often too smudged to be valuable.
Last November, Cardenas put biometric fingerprint scanners in its nine stores. Fraud has fallen to fewer than 1% of the half-million checks the stores cash in a year. Vallance says that's worth the cost, which is usually about $175 for equipment and $75 a month in fees. "Biometrics is one way to really identify the customer you're dealing with," he says.