The iris of the eye, the fingerprint or the heart rate are some of its distinctive features that the banking terminals will use to authenticate the identity of its users.
In a clear intention to facilitate daily financial operations, within a security framework, technological innovations in banking begin to open the way to start transforming the service of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or ATM.
But if innovation is concerned, biometrics is the option that is currently evaluated at the local level to increase the security of banking operations and thus simplify processes.
This technology is based on the recognition of the individual through the distinctive features of people, such as the fingerprint or iris of the eye, among others.
In this way, the debit cards will be left behind to obtain money or make other transactions. The first steps have already been taken.
According to the latest BCRA data, in Argentina there are 13,491 ATMs, among which belong to Red Link and Banelco. While many banks made implementation announcements, only a few began a real transformation process.
Among the drivers of this trend is Red Link, the technology company applied to financial services and means of payment, which has a biometric engine that allows the recognition of the fingerprint, iris, voice and vein pattern, among others. . Thus, in your ATMs today it is possible for people to operate without the need for a debit card.
"There are Link member banks that implemented this system for their retirees and pensioners, and in other cases, they are already using it for all clients," says Jorge Larravide, Link's Commercial Manager.
"Although new services and devices will gradually be incorporated for the use of biometrics, the important thing is not innovation by itself, but that it is at the service of people to make life easier for them," he tells iProUP.
Meanwhile, in Banelco, the ATM network of the Prisma Medios de Pago Group, which operates 8,000 terminals throughout the country, today is strongly committed to finger and face recognition.
"In the next month we will have a biometric engine that will allow the use of this technology, both in ATMs and in other channels," explains Valeria Melchior, manager of Processing Products of the company.
"The idea is that it is a centralized engine in which the entities that belong to our network are uploaded, in such a way as to simplify processes in a collaborative way," he said in a dialogue with iProUP.
According to Prisma estimates, during the first half of 2019, close to 1,000 biometric ATMs will be installed. Everything will depend on the investments of the banks and the times of the import processes of this type of terminals.
In use
Among those that are already in full implementation is Supervielle Bank for delivery of receipts, money laundering, notification of date of collection and balance inquiries and latest movements of accounts and credit card, among others.
In this case, it is done with recognition through the fingerprint, previous enrollment of the clients in some of the branches.
A little more than a year after its implementation, the bank indicates that more than 200,000 people already operate by this means.
This makes it clear that a service of this type does not distinguish age ranges for its adoption, due to the simplicity of use and the decrease in waiting times with respect to traditional methods.
"The security of a biometric factor is very strong given that it is inherent to the person, these mechanisms also have life detection techniques so that they can not be imitated," adds Marcelo Abella, manager of Commercial Planning and Electronic Channels of the Bank. Supervielle.
Due to the great acceptance of biometric terminals, Supervielle will end the year with its own network of 177 computers and an additional 25% by 2019.
"We believe that there is a lot to be done To begin with, we are going to continue advancing in the analysis and implementation of technologies and functionalities that improve services and make operations more efficient", concludes Abella.
Who is also working on this matter is Banco Galicia, which applies biometrics in both its ATMs and its self-service centers.
His first incursion in the simplification of processes was the elimination of envelopes for the deposits after incorporating the recognition of cash in all his branches. But now he goes a step further and embarks on a pilot test of his first retail terminal.
It is a cashier, located in its parent company, which allows both the deposit of money and the extraction of funds without the need for staff to load the terminal.
That is, it is an ATM that is self-sufficient. The foresight of Banco Galicia is to have a wide network of own distributors by the end of next year.
On the other hand, in the second semester they plan to install ITM or interactive ATMs, which not only act as a conventional terminal for depositing checks, but also allow users to interact through the video chat on the screen with personnel from the checkout line.
"What is coming are the biometric ATMs, either by finger or facial recognition, the latter being the one that offers the greatest security," explains Gabriel Fragoso, Channel Development Manager at Banco Galicia.
"On the other hand, in the long term, the possibility of operating with Quick Response Code (QR code) and Near Field Communication (NFC)" will also be implemented in the terminals.
At the same time, ICBC Argentina assured iProUP that they are working to implement mixed technologies for ATM identification in 2019.
"For example, you enter your facial recognition through a mobile phone and, by bringing it closer to the cashier, it will enable you for transactions," they indicate from the bank. These teams will also include the fingerprint option.
Despite the fact that the State promotes the digitalization and simplification of processes, ATM security must still respond to the regulations of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, which requires that for transactions the customer must introduce "something that knows" (your personal password), a "validation" (alphanumeric password) and "something you have", which is still your debit card.
Who is in full implementation of a biometric system is Banco Comafi, which made this technology available to retirees, pensioners and beneficiaries of the Universal Child Allowance that they charge through that banking entity and have their fingerprint registered, fulfilling the requirements of the ANSES.
"It is a technological leap that facilitates the customer's experience of use and ensures the extraction of money, prints the receipt of assets and gives 'faith of life' to verify that the recipient of that money is the one who charges," details Fabián Mealla, manager of Digital Banking at Banco Comafi.
Also, that entity is preparing to inaugurate in the next few days its terminals for self-supply in 20 branches, which will double in the following months.
The only users
Banking in Argentina has a high degree of delay compared to what happens in the rest of the region, where digital channels are fully integrated into automatic systems and innovation in validation is common currency.
Despite the level of technological immaturity in ATMs, biometrics is here to stay.
The use of this modality allows to comply with two essential aspects for a financial operation: identification and authentication.
Through biometric identification it is possible to be certain that a person who operates a device (ATM, cell phone, etc.) is who he claims to be.
For that, different mechanisms are used. Some refer to the verification of the data of the person who in Argentina is based on the National Registry of Persons (Renaper), which is the one that stores all the information of citizens, their fingerprints, photo, etc. which are used in different types of documentation.
As stated above, in Argentina this began a few years ago from the enrollment of retirees and pensioners with their fingerprints in the bank where they charge their pension.
Thus, while the pin and passwords have an expiration date, biometrics imposes itself on the most dissimilar variants.
Undoubtedly, the best known is the fingerprint, widely implemented in smartphones and technological devices with Touch ID systems.
The unblocking by fingerprint is one of the most comfortable solutions for the user to simplify banking operations. In some cases, it is still used in association with the debit card and works as a pin or token.
The facial or iris recognition of the eye is another option that the local bank analyzes to implement in the coming years. It is about the identification of the client through his face, prior to a 3D capture with a high level of precision, which does not allow him to confuse identities.
Something similar happens with the iris of the eye, which is a "corporal mark" that does not change since two years of life and, like the fingerprint, is unique.
In a slightly more advanced step is the recognition of the veins of the hand and the network that they make up. Thanks to an infrared light sensor, the terminal can analyze the pattern, shape and structure of blood vessels to identify a user.
Also the heart rate can serve to verify the identity of the client, since each person has a rhythm completely different from the rest. The size of the heart is also unique, which is also recorded with this mechanism.
The end of fraud
In Argentina, there are about 60 ATMs per 100,000 inhabitants, an insignificant number compared to Brazil, which has around 108 terminals per 100,000 people, according to World Bank data.
Locally, a total of 9,000 operations are recorded per month, which are mostly made through the debit card. The high number of transactions opens the game to criminals who commit fraud with plastics.
One of the most common modalities is the capture of the card through "fishermen", devices that are installed in the ATM and that retain the plastic.
According to the company NCR, dedicated to omnichannel solutions and ATM equipment supplier, this modality is no longer so usual, although it paved the way for more sophisticated techniques.
Currently, the most common fraud is the installation of a "skimmer", a device that uses the same terminal technology to read the magnetic stripe of the cards. Thus, it stores information that will later be used for illegal use.
"Today some additional solutions could be established to grant greater security to ATM operations, such as the validation of the use of a token through a bank's app," explains Fragoso.
"But there is still a very strict regulation by the Central regarding the use of cell phones within banks, so the use of applications is still limited, for that we should have more flexibility in each branch," he adds.
For this, from the sector they actively work in the omnichannel of the different media and thus integrate the digital world into automatic banking.
