Juniper: Biometrics, NFC top tech trends of 2015
23 December, 2014
category: Digital ID, Financial, NFC
Juniper Research released its top ten technology trends for 2015 with biometrics and near field communication leading the list.
The number one trend is secure data by using encryption, tokenization and biometric authentication. In the wake of a number of high profile security breaches, cloud service providers need to regain trust at both the enterprise and consumer level.
Juniper expects see an increasing array of companies investing in encryption and tokenization solutions as a means to reducing the risk of data loss or theft in 2015. Biometrics are increasingly perceived as a key way to enhance end user identification and transactional authentication, across an array of technologies.
The combination of Apple Pay with Touch ID may be a high-profile example, but in markets where mobile devices are already used for personal authentication — such as Scandinavia and the Baltic states – there will be rapid incorporation of biometrics as an additional factor.
The technology is also entering the card space as biometric technology developer IDEX has recently agreed to provide fingerprint sensor technology to Card Tech for incorporation into a digital card.
2015 may also be the year where NFC takes off. Notwithstanding the reluctance of a number of U.S. retailers to engage with NFC, Juniper states that that the combination of Apple Pay and Host Card Emulation should provide substantial impetus for NFC payments.
Apple Pay’s combination of NFC and remote purchase capability should mean that usage of one cross-promotes the other. Meanwhile, the arrival of a model whereby the secure element no longer resides on the SIM card but instead is remote to the handset removes the necessity for Mobile Network Operator involvement, making NFC more attractive to banks.
In the US, Tim Cook confirmed that more than 1 million credit cards were activated on Apple Pay within three days of its going live in the U.S. and in Europe, the first banks have now launched commercial HCE-based NFC services.
The initial omens are good and Juniper expects to see substantial consumer adoption by the end of 2015.
See all 10 of Juniper’s predictions here.
