Abstract
M.Tech.
This research is concerned with establishing the causes for the slow adoption of
biometric authentication in the South African banking sector and constitutes exploratory
research. It looks at the widely accepted means of authentication and delves deeper
into why these modes may not be sufficient to protect sensitive data.
The scope of the research is limited to the banking sector only. The first sections of the
study establish what the biometric authentication norms are amongst international
banking institutions. This is then followed by an environmental study of the South
African approach to biometric authentication.
Owing to the limited number of banks in South Africa compared to developed countries,
the study is limited to the four major banking institutions in South Africa, namely ABSA,
Standard Bank, Nedbank and First National Bank.
An online survey was used to gather the required data for analysis. The general
approach adopted to investigate the extent to which biometric authentication is used by
the said four banks was to first measure the respondents’ knowledge of biometrics and
to establish the level of exposure the respondents had to the said technology.
The next step was then to establish the extent to which the participating banks had
investigated the use of biometric authentication. This was followed by consideration of
the current use of biometric authentication and lastly, the future use and user
perceptions regarding various aspects of biometric authentication in the financial
services sector.
A matrix that identifies the factors perceived to be impacting the adoption of biometric
authentication concludes the last chapter on user perception.