Designing Biometric Automated Teller Machine: Opportunities and Challenges

The increasing sophistication of fraud in the financial sector, particularly in Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions, demands advanced security measures to protect users and their accounts. Despite the widespread use of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), literature is replete with evidence that biometric authentication provides better security than PINs. However, a survey on ATMs around the globe shows that biometrics are not widely used for authentication compared to PINs. In an effort to close the gap, this paper presents a two-pronged approach to uncover the challenges and opportunities of their adaptation in Namibia. A literature survey was carried out to establish what is known and identify the gaps. Secondly, some semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with purposefully selected key personnel for banks in Namibia and law enforcement agencies to understand ATM security landscape in the country. From these two approaches, biometric designs used in authenticating ATM systems are discussed to unearth strengths and weaknesses that will guide the designing of secure biometric ATM systems. The researchers hope the findings will improve the adoption of biometric security systems, particularly in Namibia, where questionnaires and interviews were administered to ATM experts and the Police.