Page 57 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Technology, Innovation and Competition

3.2.3.4 Necessary developments

The benefits of the prevention of dual registrations, as well as convenience are driving the use of biometric
technologies in public identity schemes such as Aadhaar, NIMC, and NADRA. However, ubiquitous adoption
within both the private and public sector in the future is likely to be dependent on a number of key developments:

• Quality of data captured: The quality of the data captured by biometric technologies has to be appropriate
to the intended use for that data. In the case of biometrics for identification activities for example, the data
captured has to be sufficiently unique to distinguish it from all other profiles within a given ecosystem.
However, for use in authentication, the data collected may only need to be sufficient enough to confirm
a 1:1 match. Failure to meet an appropriate balance between quality and intended use has the potential
to shape consumer opinion on the use of biometrics in the future and ultimately adoption of them.
• Centralised or distributed: The decision of where the biometric data is held (see section ‎0) is influenced
by use cases and risk, and privacy rules. A decision is also dependent on ongoing developments – such
as is the case with some services that carry out biometric authentication on a client personal device,
and then generate and deliver a cryptographic token with a claim about the authentication result, rather
than the biometric itself.

• Usability and reliability: One of key benefits of biometric technologies to the developing world is
presented by a reduced dependency on alphanumeric inputs. This has the potential to promote inclusion
among low literacy demographics, provided the accompanying mechanism is sufficiently usable.
For example, the UIDAI’s biometrics standards committee in India published a report in 2009 advising
that the use of fingerprint recognition may present challenges for people engaged in manual labour .
12
This is particularly relevant in developing economies where a large proportion of the population resides
in a rural environment. In Africa, rural communities constitute 46 per cent of the total population .
13

Examples: Safran , Crossmatch 2
1

1 http:// www. morpho. com/
2 http:// www. crossmatch. com/

3.2.4 Mobile phone technologies

Mobile penetration has seen continued growth with more than 4.7 billion unique subscribers recorded in
2015 globally , up from 3.6 billion at the end of 2014 . As increases in data connection speeds converge with
14
15
the proliferation of new capabilities on personal devices, the use of the mobile phone for authentication is
becoming increasingly important. In particular, the use of the SIM is of specific interest within DFS due to its
ubiquity within the target market and its capacity to securely store cryptographic keys. Assuming use of the
SIM is readily accessible, the technology could enable a user’s control over a digital identity without the need
for an additional form factor.
However, the secure hardware in the SIM is typically controlled by mobile network operators (MNOs), and
as such, commercial relationships may need to be established before utilisation of its capabilities for digital
identity. Furthermore, in models which involve the use of a 3 party controlled secure element, access is
rd
ultimately subject to the conditions of the controlling party, which are often regulated by local data protection,
and privacy rules. This can present both limitations and opportunities for the scope of any services offered.

12 https:// authportal. uidai. gov. in/ static/ role_ of_ biometric_ technology_ in_ aadhaar_ authentication. pdf
13 http:// www. geohive. com/ earth/ pop_ urban. aspx
14 http:// gsmamobileeconomy. com/
15 http:// gsmamobileeconomy. com/ GSMA_ Global_ Mobile_ Economy_ Report_ 2015. pdf

43