Rapid growth of 120% demonstrates how widespread facial recognition technology has become; fueled by its low barriers to entry, a front-facing camera, and the development of the appropriate software. Research recommends that facial recognition vendors implement robust and rapidly evolving AI-based verification checks to ensure the validity of user identity, or risk losing user trust in the authentication method as spoofing attempts increase. Research found that fingerprint sensors will feature on 93% of biometrically equipped smartphones by 2025. This compares favorably to hardware-based facial recognition, with just 17% of biometrically equipped smartphones featuring these capabilities in 2025.
Hardware-based facial recognition is growing, but the ability to carry out facial recognition via software is limiting its adoption rate. The need for a secure mobile authentication environment grows, smartphone vendors will need to increasingly turn to more robust hardware-based systems to keep pace with fraudsters’ evolving tactics. Research also found that the use of voice recognition for payments is increasing, from 111 million users in 2020, to over 704 million forecasts in 2025. The report identified that, at present, voice recognition is mostly used in banking, and will struggle to grow beyond this, due to concerns around robustness. Juniper Research recommends that vendors adopt a multi-method biometric strategy, which encompasses facial recognition, fingerprints, voice, and behavioral indicators to ensure a secure payment environment.