Having recently launched a world-first biometric solution that aims to change the way governments manage citizen authentication, Ideco now also plans to revolutionise the US $2-trillion global payment processing industry.

With projected annual revenues of $34.6-billion in 2020, mobile biometrics would significantly disrupt the global payment market by providing alternative means of securing and processing mobile transactions and mitigating fraud losses.

Maxine Most, principal at global consultants Acuity Market Intelligence, says the global payment processing industry currently in place was designed to mitigate fraud, but that protecting personal identifiable information (PII) was becoming increasingly complex.

“Mobile biometrics presents an opportunity for user-centric identity management within a lower cost system; and we expect to see biometrics of convenience shifting to serve as the core of security by 2018, and this is where you will really see the impact on fraud and identity theft,” she explains.

The Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS) portable biometrics unit is capable of authenticating people using six different modalities, from iris scanning through to voice recognition. It includes military-grade biometrics tools, dual screens, a keyboard and printer, along with best in class security, in a device the size of a briefcase.

Ideco CEO Marius Coetzee says BIMS presents opportunities for Government, security services, banks and other organisations to quickly and easily verify user identities and dramatically reduce the risk of fraud. "The solutions present a foundation for the emergence of a disruptive new model for authentication, identity management and payment systems."

Ideco also recently unveiled a world-first BioGate Identity Switch and Identity 4.0 integration platform, which provide the building blocks of an entirely new approach to authenticating users and authorising transactions.

Jaco de Jager, CEO of the South African Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), says according to international research by the ACFE, the losses suffered by organisations due to fraud are staggering.

“The average organisation loses 5% of revenues in a given year as a result of fraud; with total losses among the 2410 occupational fraud cases surveyed last year amounting to $6.3-billion –around R90-billion, with an average loss per case of $2.7-million – or R38.7-million,” he adds.

“At losses of 5%, this amounts to around R160-billion a year in South Africa. Identity theft alone costs over R1-billion a year. Among 285 organisations surveyed for the ACFE study in sub-Saharan Africa, the most common types of fraud were corruption (48.4%), billing (18.6%), non-cash (17.5%) and cash on hand (16.5%)," he says.

Research shows that bank and credit card fraud resulted in well over R454-million in losses annually, EFT fraud resulted in R123-million in losses, and life insurance fraud resulted in losses of over R253-million a year.

“One in five people have had their identity stolen, and nine out of ten times when your data is stolen, you won’t even know it. Identity fraud is a multi-billion dollar global industry. Banks are continuously looking to improve security measures, and starting to roll out biometrics to support authentication for all transactions," he concludes.