US and UK consumers warm to biometric authentication

More than half of US and UK consumers (52%) prefer to log in to online accounts using “modern authentication methods”, research from Gigya reveals, including 29% who favour two-factor authentication and 20% who prefer biometric authentication.

GigyaSome 80% of the 4,000 consumers participating in the survey who expressed a preference for biometrics also think that biometric authentication is more secure than traditional usernames and passwords.

Millennials are embracing advanced authentication methods more than other generations, with nearly half of the millennial respondents using one or more forms of biometric authentication such as fingerprint scanning technology (38%), voice recognition (15%), facial recognition (11%) or iris scanning (5%).

Only 16% of respondents follow password best practices with a unique password for each online account. 6% use the same password for all accounts and 63% use seven or fewer passwords across all their online accounts. 68% abandon the creation of an online account due to “complex password requirements”.

When given the option, 52% of consumers would choose anything but a traditional username and password account registration.

“Within the next 10 years, traditional passwords will be dead as an authentication form,” says Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya. “Consumer-focused brands require modern customer identity management infrastructures that support newer, more secure authentication methods such as biometrics.

“Businesses that are already using advanced authentication methods demonstrate increased customer registration and engagement while enjoying greater login convenience and security.”

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