5 WAYS BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION CAN IMPROVE CUSTOMER RETENTION

Mobile technology has popularized the use of biometrics as a security feature. People can unlock phones and conduct transactions by using only their biometric identity as a safeguard. Biometrics is a trusted security measure; a survey conducted by Experian found that 61% of people consider biometric authentication just as secure or even more secure than traditional password verification. Some financial institutions have already transitioned to using biometrics for Know Your Customer or KYC processes and AML compliance checks. But more than a security measure, biometric authentication can also improve the customer experience, ultimately leading to better customer retention.

Biometric authentication uses a part of your biological makeup to authenticate your identity. There are various ways for biometric authentication, such as:

• Fingerprint authentication
• Iris scan 
• Retina scan 
• Face recognition
• Voice recognition 
• Other physical characteristics

Studies have shown that 86% of consumers will leave a brand due to a poor customer experience. Using biometric authentication to improve the user experience is a way to ensure you give your customers a seamless user experience and promote customer retention in the long run. Here are five ways biometric authentication can improve customer retention.

Better Security

A majority of consumers say that they now prefer doing business digitally. This is true, especially for financial transactions. Biometrics helps improve customer retention by streamlining the authentication process and making it more secure. Biometrics is a faster way of logging in compared to traditional long passwords. Biometrics helps achieve this high level of security by employing a Multi Factorial Authentication approach as opposed to the conventional two-factor authentication approach. Many businesses, especially financial institutions, have already used biometrics as part of their processes, such as Know Your Customer or KYC checks and ensuring AML compliance.

Improved Customer Service

Good customer service is essential to the customer experience. Customer service is more than just addressing complaints; it is the totality of a customer’s engagement with a brand. This is the key to customer retention and loyalty. Customers are more likely to remain loyal to a business if they have a positive customer experience. You can use biometrics to promote customer retention by integrating it in different phases of customer engagement, such as onboarding, answering questions, and resolving complaints.

• Onboarding: Use biometrics to fast-track the customer onboarding process. Integrate biometrics into the process by using it in place of the traditional password when doing KYC or AML Compliance checks. 
• Answering Questions: Companies that use a more advanced biometric authentication system can use voice recognition software integrated with AI to address queries faster. 
• Resolving Complaints: You can use biometrics to make navigation easier for your customers. This enables you to address complaints quicker and results in lesser frustration on the part of your customers.

Personalization

Biometrics enables your clients to personalize how they want to secure their accounts. Instead of settling with the usual identity validation such as passwords, clients can choose what information they want to use to validate their identity. This results in fewer issues, such as getting locked out of an account due to forgetting a password. A seamless customer experience results in better customer retention and conversion. Financial institutions can also use biometrics to complete their Know Your Customer Checks and ensure AML compliance, resulting in lesser chances of fraud.

User-friendly

Using biometric authentication is a more user-friendly approach to identity verification. Instead of remembering multiple passwords for different accounts, customers can count on their biometric identity to access their accounts. Making the experience more user-friendly makes for a better customer experience and better chances of customer retention, especially for first-time customers. Using biometrics also means businesses can do away with extensive paperwork just for security checks and AML compliance checks alone.

Faster Turnaround Time

Using biometric technology eliminates the need to remember lengthy, complicated passwords and go through knowledge-based security checks. Customers will experience a faster turnaround time, which is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. Some businesses have taken biometric technology to a whole new level by using systems such as facial recognition as a boarding pass in airports. This is just one example of how biometric technology is advancing and will be the key to unlocking better customer experiences, leading to better customer retention. 

The practical application of biometric technology is critical to ensuring customer retention by using biometric technology to promote a better customer experience. When used to its full potential, biometrics can even help cut costs to attract new customers. There is a higher probability of selling to an existing customer instead of a new one. If you’re already using biometric technology in your business, take it up a notch to maximize it for customer retention.