(Source: Payment Drive) Fraud remains a growing global financial threat, but U.S. lawmakers say biometric technology already built into smartphones could play a major role in stopping criminals.
Speaking Tuesday at a financial conference hosted by a banking trade group and The Hill, Reps. Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat, and Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, argued that pairing secure digital identification with facial and fingerprint recognition on mobile phones could significantly reduce fraud.
Foster said smartphones equipped with trusted biometric tools could serve as a foundation for a secure digital ID system linked to documents such as Real ID–compliant driver’s licenses or passports. That combination, he said, would make it far harder for criminals to impersonate individuals or divert funds.
“A digital ID tied to a real person and authenticated through biometrics gives you a legally traceable identity,” Foster said, adding that many other countries already use such systems to support secure financial transactions.
Both lawmakers noted that most modern Apple and Android phones already require biometric authentication, but integrating official identification documents into those devices is a newer development in the United States. Apple recently introduced a Digital ID feature that allows users to store passport information in their digital wallet, which is now being tested for domestic air travel at hundreds of airports through the Transportation Security Administration. Nineteen states and Puerto Rico have begun allowing digital IDs in some form, according to the TSA.
Meuser criticized what he described as outdated identity verification practices still used by many businesses and government agencies, such as relying on easily obtained personal information. “That’s rudimentary compared to what’s possible and already working elsewhere,” he said.
Foster pointed to pandemic-era federal relief programs as evidence of the weaknesses in the current system, estimating that hackers stole up to $300 billion in benefits in 2020. He said countries with secure digital ID systems avoided similar losses by requiring beneficiaries to authenticate themselves through their phones before receiving payments.
Despite the potential benefits, Foster acknowledged strong political resistance to anything resembling a national digital ID. Still, he said most Americans simply want a system that is secure, private and reliable.
“People are tired of dealing with identity theft and fraud,” Foster said. “They just want something that works.”
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