Body Scanning Can Secure Transactions

The Sept. 11 Factor

While all this may seem same way out and perhaps a bit Big Brother-ish, experts said consumers are likely to cross paths with such technology on an increasing basis, particularly as financial institutions wish to secure customer transactions and cut down on financial fraud.

"My view is that we will probably see some 70 percent of consumer transactions utilize one or more versions of a biometric technology within three years time," said Tom Manning, a senior partner at Bain & Co Inc., an IT strategy and management consulting firm based in Boston.

Manning added that consumers might first see easier to use biometrics like voice authentication, with a more gradual implementation of more costly and accurate technologies like iris scanning in the near future.

"I don't think consumers will go through a week without interacting with biometrics," Manning added. "Let's face it, September 11th put biometrics on the map, creating an immediate recognition of how critical security has become in our connected society."