While many biometric modalities have been tried at the ATM, fingerprint biometrics has become one of the most widely used, partly because of its long history, but more importantly for its ease of use, performance, interoperability, ability to thwart imposters and low cost. And contrary to many claims or what has been depicted in movies, fingerprint characteristics cannot easily be transferred, socially engineered or guessed. Biometrics is quite simply the simplest and most universal form of personal identity. There are also no literacy, language, race, gender or other barriers to biometrics’ widespread adoption or deployment. User authentication is completed with the simple touch of a finger.

That said, best practices should be observed for the most successful implementation of a secure, convenient and trusted authentication solution. Key focus areas should include the following: