Digital transformation includes biometric solutions, and this has swept throughout the retail sector in the same way it has been influencing many other industries. For years, IT systems have aided in the streamlining of some retail processes, and more recent developments have focused on automating the shopping experience through the use of self-checkout kiosks and other self-service technologies.
Rigorous, new privacy restrictions have begun to appear as more consumer data has been digitized and gathered. Consumer privacy is protected by legislation yet even huge multinational corporations are being embroiled in privacy-related disputes.
Fortunately, new technologies in the field of biometric solutions are now available to assist shops in complying with privacy requirements and safeguarding their customers’ data. The most important among these technologies is appropriately integrated face biometrics, which may be used to validate consumer identification without gathering any more information than is required, thereby remaining in compliance with regulations.
Biometric solutions that are designed with age verification is a great example of how this works in the real world. If a consumer has engaged in face-to-face shopping at a grocery store, adding a bottle of wine to the shopping basket will not cause any friction or require the user to provide any more personal information at the checkout.
This is due to the fact that the POS (Point-of-Sale) terminal identifies the customer immediately via facial recognition and can thereby affirm the customer’s age by connecting to their profile. For age verification, there is no need to present a photo ID including irrelevant Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as a home address.
There is a widespread belief that biometric solutions, particularly face recognition, clashes with the principles of privacy. However, a well built facial recognition system may actually assist a establishment in going above and above the privacy protection norms of most legislation.
The ideal biometric solution will guarantee privacy by following three important principles, as explained in HID Global‘s new eBook, The Ultimate Retail Experience Starts With Facial Recognition:
1. Biometric solutions should offer choices for opting-in and opting-out.
Opting in is completely the customer’s choice, ensuring that the consent-based criteria of privacy rules are met. Remote enrollment through an app is simple and quick; by requiring only a selfie and a photo of a government ID, the solution eliminates any doubt that the consumer has freely opted to contribute their data. It is also critical that any database of client information, biometric or otherwise, allows customers to opt out.
2. Biometric solutions should provide unspecified templates.
While the biometric system associates a the data of the customer with their face, the latter is saved as a biometric template that cannot be reverse-engineered. Even if a hacker gained access to it, the template could not be utilized to collect linked PII, rendering it useless to the thief or other criminal.
3. Biometric solutions should deliver system-wide security.
Using database encryption to safeguard all stored data offers a strong security layer to prevent data breaches. Using secure, encrypted end-to-end transmission between data points protects against man-in-the-middle cyberattacks, which occur when communications are intercepted secretly by a third party.
Enhancing the Customer Experience with HID Global
A biometric solution with these privacy-focused safeguards built into its basis can actually help to promote client privacy while providing an innovative and pleasant customer experience. Customer convenience and regulatory compliance do not have to be mutually exclusive. Retailers may use automated face recognition technology to better serve and protect their consumers while also ensuring compliance with privacy requirements in the future.
Discover more of the features and advantages of HID Global’s solutions for your company by connecting with us today. You can also gain more insights from their new eBook, The Ultimate Retail Experience Starts With Facial Recognition to learn more about how this specific innovation can be leveraged to everyone’s benefit.
