By Tom Phillips[1] • • Updated • nfcw.com[2]
Some 65.5% of US consumers would pay for a biometric credit card that has a built-in fingerprint reader for authenticating payments, according to a survey of American credit card users.
It also found that 60.2% of respondents would prefer to pay a one-time fee of US$69.95 that covers the whole three-year lifetime of a biometric card, while 39.7% would prefer a monthly payment of US$8.95 that includes identity theft insurance.
“Interesting for card issuing banks is that the consumer research is showing that bank customers are willing to pay for a biometric credit card,” says SmartMetric[3], the biometric technology provider that commissioned the survey.
“This is based on the consumer’s desire to have a safer technology that aids in protecting against card fraud. For bank card customers, the concern of card fraud goes well beyond the financial loss they may or may not experience.
“Card customers find the whole experience of having their financial safety violated unpleasant. It is a logical as well as an emotional reaction by consumers.
“The sense of violation along with the general concern for their financial safety is the main driving force as to why the research is showing so many existing card customers are willing to pay for a biometric card,” the firm adds.
“For card issuing banks, they also are advantaged by the increased security offered by biometric credit and debit cards, while at the same time being able to turn their cards into a revenue-generating new source of income, making the credit card
