By 2022, it is expected that large government and private projects will be developed in Mexico focused on the creation of digital identities as a mechanism to prevent crimes such as identity theft and cyber fraud. However, for these to be successful and fulfill the function for which they were created, it is necessary to guarantee the ethics and technical capacity of the technology providers that will be implementing them.
This was stated by Adolfo Loera, CEO of Applied Biometrics, who added that although the offer in the market in terms of cybersecurity is very wide in the country, the creation of digital identities requires a specialization that not all companies have, so Companies and institutions seeking to bring this technology to their operations are required to do a lot of research before hiring, since they will have invaluable data on citizens and customers in their hands.
“One of the most ambitious projects of the year is, without a doubt, the creation of the Single Digital Identity Card by the Ministry of the Interior, through the National Population Registry (Renapo). The objective is that each citizen of this country has a document that guarantees their identity and that the benefits of technology are used, particularly biometrics, to reach those Mexicans who do not even exist officially, because they have never been registered”, he stressed. It was.
“Likewise, with this measure the entire population can be incorporated into the digital economy, which promotes access to education, health, financial services and social programs, which in turn helps to guarantee equal opportunities. But being a large-scale project, the federal agency has a legal, moral and political responsibility to ensure that this data is not disclosed or compromised, and that can only be guaranteed with the technology and locks designed for it, ”he added.
A similar case is that of the National Register of Mobile Telephony Users (Panaut), which, although its creation was decreed by the National Congress, is today suspended by order of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) after that the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) promoted a controversy, since it considered that creating the Panaut, which would force 129.8 million users who today have a telephone line to provide their personal and biometric data, goes against their powers.
With this, Loera continued, the possibility of evolving mobile telephony services to integrate secure transactions through biometric validations was stopped, that is, financial services could be integrated by telecommunications companies within the framework of company regulations. Fintech.
“The citizens also expressed their disagreement and it is logical, since in the past we witnessed the leaks that the National Electoral Institute suffered from its database, to give an example. However, in the event that the SCJN decides to approve it -they still need to decide on the constitutionality of the initiative- there are also signs of responsible and adequate handling of information, as is the case of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( SRE) or the Tax Administration Service (SAT), and they are the models to be followed by any dependency that seeks to store biometric data of citizens”, he stressed.
The expert in digital identities commented that another example of the good implementation of biometrics is that of the administrators of retirement funds (afores), which since they began with the creation of digital files with biometrics have managed to reduce transfers by 99%. undue and there have been no cases of unrecognized unemployment withdrawals, since technology allows effective monitoring of transactions, according to the National Commission of the Retirement Savings System (Consar).
“Five years after the start of the measure, today this service could be optimized with tools such as digital onboarding, which allows remote enrollment and scheduling appointments at the convenience of the worker so that they can later go to a branch in person to complete the process. ”, proposed Loera.
Banks are in a similar case, which as a result of the covid-19 pandemic have also seen their work of enrolling bank users complicated and, with it, their intention to comply with the law. “Banks need to get closer to their technology providers to learn about the alternatives they have to speed up this process, but not only that, but also what other benefits they can obtain with the large investment they are making, beyond mere compliance. normative”, said the also founder of Applied Biometrics.
Means of payment with biometrics
During this year, a boom in biometric payment methods is also expected, which will use fingerprint and iris scanners, or facial and voice recognition to identify the user and validate transactions. This would be replacing or complementing security elements such as the handwritten signature, the PIN and other passwords.
“On the one hand, cyber fraud and unacknowledged purchases, both online and in physical branches, are problems that have not reduced their incidence during the pandemic, and on the other, bank users are willing to provide their data. biometrics to these institutions if with that they guarantee greater security in their accounts. This should be used by the industry to try to stop these illicit acts, which in the last two years have had an increase of more than 100%”, added the specialist.
New regulation in brokerage firms
One of the great opportunities for the biometric sector in this 2022 will come with the modifications to the regulatory framework of the brokerage houses, especially with the possibility of remote contracting, which is expected to result in a greater opening of accounts, with the attracting young customers.
According to the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), the aim was to standardize the current regulations of banks with those of stock brokers, for which the monthly transaction level for low-risk accounts was increased from 2,000 to 3,000 Units of Investment, and users will be allowed to carry out 100% digital operations.
“Without a doubt, as a sector we have a very encouraging year ahead of us, but also important challenges to overcome, especially those related to the myths and misinformation that exist around biometric technology. We must be efficient when communicating the benefits of this technology and make it clear that the fact that a person provides their biometric data to a company or institution is not a blank check for them to use for unauthorized purposes”, Loera said.
According to the consulting firm Statista, the global market for biometric systems is expected to reach $68.6 billion by 2025, after reaching a value of $36.6 billion in 2020.
Regarding Latin America, the industry is expected to grow by more than 20% in the region, where Mexico, Brazil and Argentina will be the markets that will lead in the adoption of this technology.
With information from Nicholas Lucas.