In 2010, Cairo Amman Bank (CAB), a
bank found throughout Palestine and Jordan, decided to invest in biometric
authentication through a company named IrisGuard Inc. The bank implemented a
biometric solution known as EyeBank, allowing for customers to utilize their
banking accounts more easily and safely via iris scanning.
Although biometric authentication’s
ubiquity had been previously claimed to “make it
hard for dramatic changes in security”, we see otherwise in CAB’s recent
EyeBank deployment. Or rather, we see that CAB overlooked such laboriousness
and was significantly successful, in which case making this implementation
worthy. Currently, CAB has installed over 500 iris cameras, and has enrolled more than 100,000 ban customers. Consequently, the bank users
have expressed their appreciation for EyeBank via an
independent banking survey. It showed over 94 percent customer satisfaction
with IrisGuard EyeBank ATM authentication, and over 95 percent of users
anticipated increasing IrisGuard service usage rates at ATMs. (Mayhew, 2012)
Furthermore, 95.2 percent want to continue using EyeBank in the future.
(Mayhew, 2012)
Thus, although spreading biometric authentication world-wide, or even nation-wide for a company may seem arduous, its results are meritorious according to customer satisfaction.
EyeBank is now at all Cairo Amman Bank customer service
desks, teller stations and ATMs throughout the two countries. In addition to
increasing security by negating the need for a word-password, EyeBank also adds
ease to banking. Rather than swiping a debit card through an ATM machine and
typing in a pin number, EyeBank users only need to scan their eye. This
obviously allows for increased ease and efficiency, but it also eliminates the stressful
occurrence of losing a debit card or having one stolen.
Additionally, rather than needing a key or User ID for an
employer to enter a CAB building, he/she only needs to scan his/her eye. In
which case, EyeBank eliminates the need for the key, User ID, ATM card, pin
number and traditional password.
It's interesting to contrast this with the previous posting. Using biometric ID in an ATM system is very different from using it for Internet. The devices and authentication are in a closed system, so any intrusion would have to be internal, not something on the user's computer as could be done with general internet bio-IDing. And since the banking systems aren't on the open internet, the possibility of information theft is less (though non-zero). There are other applications like this, as mentioned, such as building security. Again, a closed system. It is interesting to look at bio-ID and the range of different application niches.
ReplyDelete--t
Cool -- I didn't know that they were already using biometric authentication in Palestine and Jordan. I also wouldn't have guessed that it would be so popular.
ReplyDeleteI find it absolutely fascinating that biometric, iris scanning is becoming more and more used and common place in countries all across the world, yet you barely see it's adaptation in the US. I never knew that it was being used in Palestine and Jordan, and to be honest, if asked, I would have never guessed.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to share how feasible this biometric authentication by method of iris scanning by sharing what I believe to be the most compelling example:iris scanning in India.
The Indian government is making a massive effort to scan the irises and therefore catalog every single person in the country. Government officials teamed up with NGOs peddle around from village to village with relatively cheap iris scanners and computers, and so far have scanned hundreds of millions of eyes. In a country where getting identification by the government is everything (hospital care, food rations, etc.), this a great and impressive step to solve that problem, and I think it's one of the best uses of biometric authentication.