Barclays’ Biometric Reader is going to make your bank account more secure

Most of our security these days comes from PIN numbers or passwords, with a few exceptions in the mobile world. The problem is that they are remarkably insecure because someone else could get access to your sensitive info simply by guessing your password. Barclays say nay to this idea, and has teamed up with Hitachi to launch a new fingerprint reader that is capable of scanning the unique vein patterns in a person’s finger to verify their identity.

Once your identity has been verified by the scanner you’ll be able to access your bank accounts and authorise payment quickly and easily. Before you start thinking off rubbishy science fiction films where people get around this by lopping off various body parts, Hitachi’s technology only works if the scanner finger is “attached to a live human body”, making it significantly harder to fool.

Video courtesy of Engadget

Barclays’ Biometric Reader is set to roll out to business account holders sometime next year, and it probably won’t be long before it’s available to everyone. [Barclays via Engadget]