Are Biometric Verification in eCommerce Secure for Customers?

Online shopping isn’t slowing down. With more people buying everything from groceries to laptops online, security is front and center. For years, passwords and one-time passcodes did the job, but they’re clunky, forgettable, and honestly—easy targets for hackers. That’s why more retailers are looking at biometrics. Fingerprints, face scans, even voice patterns.

The catch? Biometrics can be both a blessing and a risk. They make life easier and harder for fraudsters, but they also raise big questions about safety and privacy.

What Biometric Verification Actually Means

In plain terms, it’s just proving someone is who they say they are through unique traits. Could be a thumbprint, the way their face is mapped, how they speak, or even how they type.

In eCommerce, biometrics show up at:

• login screens
• checkout approvals
• customer onboarding
• fraud detection systems

The upside is obvious—unlike passwords, these identifiers can’t be guessed or phished as easily. The downside is just as obvious: once they’re stolen, they can’t be replaced.

Why It Appeals to Both Sides

1) Harder to Steal

Passwords leak. People reuse them. Attackers exploit them. Biometrics raise the bar because they’re far tougher to duplicate with a simple phishing email or brute-force attempt.

2) Faster Checkout

Nobody likes typing passwords during checkout. And waiting for an OTP text? It’s clunky. Biometrics speed things up. Visa ran a survey in Kuwait in 2025—68% of respondents trusted biometrics more than traditional methods, and 69% said they’d use “Click to Pay with Biometrics” if they could.

3) Fighting Fraud

Fraud isn’t going away. In 2023, merchants lost over $48 billion globally to it. Biometrics, especially when paired with behavioral analytics, give retailers stronger tools to flag suspicious behavior before money walks out the door.

4) People Are Warming Up

Skepticism’s still around, but it’s fading. The IAPP found 44% of consumers preferred biometrics over other methods. In Spain, more than half believed biometrics were more secure than passwords (IAPP). That shift says a lot about consumer trust.

The Risks That Tag Along

This tech isn’t bulletproof. Far from it.

• Permanent if leaked: A stolen password can be reset. A stolen fingerprint? That’s forever.
• Big breaches happen: The Suprema BioStar 2 breach exposed 28 million biometric records. By 2025, some analysts warn breaches could affect 1.46 billion people.
• Spoofing attempts: High-res photos, masks, even deepfakes are being used to trick systems. Liveness checks help, but they’re not flawless.
• Bias and errors: Not all systems perform equally. Some reject legit users or approve impostors. Facial recognition has taken heat for inconsistent accuracy across demographics.
• Privacy pushback: Surveys show nearly half of non-users avoid biometrics because they don’t want companies holding that kind of data. That trust gap matters.

Making Biometrics Safer in eCommerce

The good news is, businesses don’t have to choose between convenience and caution. A layered approach works best:

• Keep biometric data stored locally on devices instead of central servers.
• Encrypt everything—templates included.
• Use cancelable biometrics, so data can be “revoked” if compromised.
• Pair biometrics with something else for sensitive transactions (PIN, OTP).
• Keep improving liveness detection against spoofing.
• Be transparent—let customers know how data’s used and give opt-out options.
• Stick to regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

So, Are They Secure?

With the right setup, yes. Biometrics add convenience, cut checkout friction, and make fraud harder. And consumer trust is moving in the right direction. But the risks are serious, and the fallout from a breach isn’t something you can just patch overnight.

The smarter way forward isn’t to dump passwords altogether. It’s to use biometrics alongside other safeguards, and to handle customer data with care. Done responsibly, biometrics can make eCommerce stronger, not weaker.

Final Word

Biometrics aren’t magic. They’re a tool—and like any tool, how well they work depends on how they’re used. Retailers that get implementation right can cut fraud and make shopping smoother. Customers, meanwhile, should keep paying attention to how their data’s being stored and managed.