Behavioral Biometrics - Next Stage Of eCommerce Customer Experience

Recently I was invited to an online venture event where several companies showcased their products. I am convinced that all of the companies will be successful in their respective industries because they all have amazing concepts. However, one company in particular piqued my interest and curiosity: BioCatch.

BioCatch uses behavioural biometrics to provide advanced behavioural insights to global organizations, allowing them to create a secure and frictionless digital customer journey by helping them address the following issues.

• Account opening protection
• Account takeover protection
• Social engineering scam detection
• Help address PSD2 SCA requirements.

Most of us have had some experience with a system or systems that employ physical biometrics in some way. Using a fingerprint to log into a laptop or phone is one example. However, not many would be familiar with behaviour biometrics and how they are used to detect patterns in human activities. And this session was my first introduction to that world and it was worth attending.

Example of some of the verification methods used in behavioural biometrics are mouse activity, keystroke dynamics, touchscreen behaviour, mobile device movements, and cognitive analysis. There are links in the reference section if you wish to learn more about biometrics.

There is a lot of research being done that uses behavioural biometrics to answer various challenges. For example, Nicolas Van Balen, Christopher T. Ball, and Haining Wang conducted a behavioural biometrics study to aid with online gender classification. Eesa Alsolami research on using keystroke dynamics for continuous user authentication.

BioCatch and other behavioural biometrics firms, in my opinion, can help with far more than just security. Aside from security, I feel that incorporating behavioural biometrics into the whole eCommerce experience of customers is the next evolutionary step in bringing the online experience closer to that of in-store customers.

Due to the high degree of competition, the eCommerce business is always on the bleeding edge of employing technology to improve user experience as compared to other industries. The use of analytics to optimize the user experience, product suggestions based on previous purchases, and provide different experiences based on loyalty status (for example, free shipping if you are a gold/silver member) is quite common. However, it is still not the same experience you get in a store. The use of behavioural biometrics has the potential to enhance the existing online experience to be close to the in-store experience.

For example, if a visitor is surfing a website, the website may make an educated guess about their gender and age based on how they use the mouse, how quickly they hit the keys on the keyboard, and how much pressure they use. And based on the data collected, show appropriate products.

Another example is providing payment alternatives based on the same biometrics behaviour as previous example. Millennials and Generation Z are increasingly opting for the Buy Now, Pay Later option. So, if you have their biometrics data, you may show them their most relevant payment choice first, followed by others. All this is geared towards giving consumers an online experience that mimics being in a store and engaging with a real person.

These are just a few examples of how behavioural biometics may be used to improve the eCommerce experience for customers, not just the security aspect. It can play a far bigger role in the customer's overall Omni-channel experience. Likelihood of customers' returning to the store to shop may not be the same as it used to be before Covid-19. Any competitive advantage that eCommerce may bring is a win-win situation for the business.

I'd be interested in learning more about any eCommerce company that uses behavioural biometrics for purposes other than security and fraud prevention. I'd also like to hear from others who are working in this area and conducting tests.

References

1. Biometrics

2. Exploiting behavioral biometrics for user security enhancements

3. Advanced Behavioral Biometrics with BioCatch

4. BioCatch_Invisible_Challenges_4

5. New Account Opening: 3 Ways Behavioral Biometrics Can Spot Criminals and Protect Customers

6. Recent application

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