Biometrics statistics for 2021. Market and industries

Statistics on the biometrics industry

According to statista, the market for biometric technologies will steadily grow over the next few years to reach $55.42 billion by 2027. This rapid growth is driven in part by the speed and usability of biometric technologies in many biometric authentication processes, such as online payments, a huge benefit for 44% of respondents to this survey.

In addition, we get from the same specialised portal that spending in the identity verification market is forecast to reach USD 18 billion by 2027, with an estimated growth over 10 years (2017 – 2027) of USD 13 billion.

There is certainly a huge growth that confirms the relentless trend of digitisation of processes that were previously done in person and where it is critical to verify the identity of users and customers.

Statistics by biometric recognition technologies

It is evident that biometrics are here to stay, and that they bring numerous benefits in countless industries and processes. Do you want to know the most interesting statistical data, differentiated by biometric traits? Keep reading…

Download the eIDAS Guide and learn about eIDAS and types of electronic signatures

Facial recognition market

The majority of facial recognition processes performed on smartphones will be software-based rather than hardware-based, with an estimated 1.3 billion devices supporting this capability via software by 2024 (source 1, source 2), and an estimated market growth of USD 7 billion by 2024. (statista).

In this booming context, coronavirus has emerged with force to accelerate the adoption of these technologies but also to encourage their evolution in view of the need to recognise the face partially covered by masks. In a recent study carried out by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) based on 90 face recognition algorithms, it was found that the algorithms are able to maintain the ability to extract features with strong discriminative power when masks are used, with false rejection rates varying from 0.3% to 5% in images where the covered surface of the face is 7%.

Another consequence of COVID-19 is the decrease in hardware shipments during the pandemic, resulting in a drop in revenue from biometric device sales of approximately USD 2 million and increased adoption of software solutions, mainly contactless.

In addition, in a US survey conducted by Reservations.com, 42.6% of Americans approve of the use of facial recognition technology at airports to improve security versus 32.5% who disapprove.

This approval of the use of facial recognition technology depending on the situation and context is supported by a recent study by Mastercard and Oxford University in which 77% of participating consumers consider facial recognition a secure system, rising to 93% who consider the use of fingerprints a secure biometric system. 

Voice Recognition market

The voice recognition market is expected to grow to USD 27.16 billion by 2025. (Statista).

The automotive industry will be particularly affected, with around 90% of vehicles sold globally expected to be equipped with a voice assistant by 2028. 

Many companies identify customers when they contact their call centres with voice biometrics. According to a study by Goode Intelligence, 56% of respondents saw a reduction in the volume of calls to their call centre after deploying biometrics, which is estimated to save USD 6.25 million per year (estimated for a bank with 5 million customers).

Fingerprint recognition market

• In 2018, 96.5% of smartphones included capacitive fingerprint technology. It is expected that by 2022 FOD (Fingerprint on Display) technology, which includes optical and ultrasonic fingerprint recognition solutions, will be available. A qualitative leap that will undoubtedly revolutionise the use of fingerprint sensors.
• On the other hand, most biometric payments are currently made with fingerprint as a second authentication factor and it is expected that by 2024 more than 4.6 billion smartphones will integrate fingerprint sensors (Biometric Update).

Digital Signatures Statistics

When the EU created a legal framework called eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Signature), defining a common standard and the different types of electronic signature, the foundations for the use of signature digitisation technologies globally were established, enabling the market to reach $951.3 million in 2019 with an expected growth of 24.6% by 2030. If the market continues to grow, as expected, it could reach $9.07 billion by 2023. (markets.businessinsider).

This growth is due to the fact that it is in the signature digitisation process where companies most directly appreciate the benefits of going paperless, making processes more efficient and unattended: 

• Switching to using electronic signatures can lead to around 85% savings in document handling costs. 
• Response time is reduced by around 80% with the use of electronic signatures. 
• An estimated 500% increase in customer loyalty due to the use of biometric signatures. 
• Businesses can improve approval performance by up to 83% with the use of electronic signatures.  

Download the eIDAS Guide and learn about eIDAS and types of electronic signatures

Cyberattacks and Cybersecurity Statistics

Biometrics can be a great support for companies’ digital security, improving systems for controlling identity theft attacks. Here are some statistics on cyber attacks that may be of interest to you:

• It is estimated that hackers carry out attacks on computers and networks at an interval of 39 seconds. (Source: University of Maryland). A new research launched by Comparitech in 2021 showed that their unsecured computer was attacked 100k times per day which is a huge increase on UMD’s 2007 findings of 2,244 attacks. 
  
• 80.7% of the companies surveyed in the study on “2020 Report Defense Cyberthreat” conducted by the Cyber Edge group confirm that they have suffered cyber attacks. 
• According to the same study, the sectors most affected by cybercrime are the financial industry with 87.6%, followed by retail with 82.7% and technology and telecommunications with almost 82%.
• According to a report on the current threats of Cryptojacking (unauthorised use of a computer for cryptocurrency mining) by ENISA, it is estimated that in 2019 there were around 64.1 million attacks. 
• Cybercriminals often take advantage of available information. 63% of hacker access to the network is due to the misuse of passwords and usernames. 
• In order to prevent healthcare fraud and identity theft, the healthcare industry’s investment in the biometric market is expected to reach $2,848.3 million by 2021.
• According to the study conducted by Oracle, 62% of hotel guests said that the user experience would be improved with the use of biometrics and facial recognition, 41% said they would visit hotels with these types of services more often. 
• 56% of guests who participated in Oracle’s study said it would improve their hotel stay if the step of opening and closing room doors were done using biometrics.

Biometrics statistics by industry and market

Many industries are tapping into biometric recognition to verify the identity of their customers, as well as to help prevent digital fraud. At Mobbeel, we have clients in a variety of industries such as banking, online gaming, cryptocurrencies, healthcare and tourism, among others. Below you will find statistics on the use of biometrics in the most representative industries and markets:

• Around 28% of the use of biometric technology in the US is by companies from the financial industry.(Source)
• According to the Juniper Research study, biometric authentication will be able to secure payment transactions of up to USD 2.5 trillion and more than 60% of payment transactions using biometric authentication will be carried out remotely.
• Payment fraud losses from online payments will grow by approximately 52% by 2024. (Source)
• Around 72% of hotel operators expect to implement facial recognition technology by 2025, to be used as a means of user interaction and identification. (Forbes).
• The use of biometric technology to identify passengers can speed up processes in the aviation industry by 40%. (Source).
• The aviation industry invests $50 billion in IT, including biometric technologies. In 2018, airlines spent 4.84% of their revenues on IT, while airports spent around 6.06%. (Biometric Update).

If you are interested in learning more about the different biometric recognition technologies we have developed with our own technology (facial recognition, voice, signature or fingerprint), please contact us!