APAC Mobile Biometric Identification and Authentication Market, Forecast to 2021

Biometric identification and authentication is well positioned to complement and potentially replace existing traditional verification processes such as those using pins and passwords, security questions, and even personal identity verification. The role of biometrics is becoming more important now that the industry is heading towards becoming mobile first. As a result, mobile biometrics is picking up and on a high growth trajectory in the Asia-Pacific region.

Drivers include increasing adoption of smartphones and higher adoption of mobile transactions in the region. Multimodal biometrics is the preferred choice due to increased emphasis on security. Biometric authentication for mobile payment services is starting to become the norm, Apple and Samsung having led the way by incorporating biometrics into their smartphones. Governments in Asia-Pacific are starting to adopt biometric capabilities for national security, especially in terms of border control and citizens’ identification. India, in particular, has led the way in terms of government efforts in digitalizing citizens’ identification.

Mobile biometrics can help stimulate revenue growth. It can generate more revenue while also improving customer experience. It can also result in cost reductions, for instance, by reducing IT cost associated with retrieving forgotten pins and passwords, lessening the rate of cyberattacks with higher security, protecting systems from hacking and data theft, and enabling quicker customer identification and recognition resulting in a smaller staff requirement to serve customers.

Organizations such as mobile network operators (MNOs), financial institutions, and other industry players risk losing out on market share if they do not keep up with market trends, particularly those that have placed increased importance on security, convenience, and mobility. Banks and MNOs in the region such as those in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and China have started to reap the benefit of biometrics with its adoption into their customer onboarding process. In doing so, these organizations can register customers more seamlessly and at a much more efficient pace than before.

Mobile biometrics has come a long way since the early days and has become more affordable and user-friendly. Mass user adoption is thus possible through the introduction of biometric features in smartphones as well as smart devices. Market trends such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), digital customer onboarding, and effective border control management have encouraged the adoption of mobile biometrics in every market sector.

Collaboration among industry players as well as amongst the different industry verticals will allow for product innovation. This will enable industry players to introduce mobile biometric offerings into new innovative products in order to address gaps in the marketplace. Partnerships also enable industry players to penetrate different markets at a faster pace and on a more cost-efficient basis. Investment made by government bodies and organizations as well as collaborative efforts will help industry players develop more suitable mobile biometric solutions. The companies mentioned in this study include but are not limited to HID Global, Iris Corporation, Tascent, NEC, Idemia, Fingerprint Cards AB, Nuance Communications, Synaptics, Samsung SDS, Egis Technology, Suprema, Fujitsu, Cognitec Systems, Precise Biometrics, and Gemalto N.V.